The issue of the gender gap is one that deserves a solution--which is easier said than done. After watching the videos at the end of this article, I have realized the gender gap is much larger than the differences between men and women. Women have to overcome much more than men to actually realize their potential. I like how Oprah explained this, stating that we must find our authentic power. This to her meant finding alignment between your energy and what you do in the world. More specifically, using your personality to serve your soul. I believe this is one way to break down this large gender gap. By having women truly understand their power and feel welcome in their positions as leaders.
Women bring lots to the table. To no avail, women still face excruciating wage gaps. The video about this really made an impact on me coming from a family that owns its own business where the men seemingly hold more power but in reality the women control most of what goes on without recognition. Of course discrimination is part of a wage gap, but what caught my attention was that it was not the main reason. Women becoming mothers was the main reason for a wage or promotion gap.
All of these videos deal with the gender gap and how it is systematically engrained in our society--to the point of most positions being made for men and not women. Women have to work twice, if not three times harder than men to get to the exact same place. And why? Simply because they are expected to take care of the children the men also had part in bringing into this world? Because women have to calculate their emotions to fit into society's standards? Women are assumed to be mothers, but men are not assumed to be fathers. Which is a bold statement I know, but it is one that directly correlates to the main theme of all the videos. Women are systematically supposed to give up education, careers, free time, and personal luxuries to take care of their children and spouse.
That being said, the solution does not just start with women. It starts with men too.
Men must feel comfortable being caretakers to create ample space for women in the workforce. Of course women must also break down these stigmas that they inevitably place on themselves, but they need space to do that. Women are so busy dealing with family needs that they barely have time to even think about how to deconstruct their ideas. Men must step up and be okay taking care of children. This sounds simple, but when you realize men’s bathrooms don’t have changing stations for babies, you realize that the world was quite literally built against this idea. Nonetheless, the solution starts with teaching men it is okay to take time off for family--and even further is encouraged like in Iceland. The gender gap is a sticky problem, but it is one that will take women stepping up and men stepping back to solve.
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