Many women can say they were mistreated because of their gender in their lifetime. In this day of age, many Women still feel the effects of sexism, and that shouldn’t be happening in today’s society.
Some people will say that not all men treat Women unequally, but the truth is the majority of women can tell a man treated them unfairly more than once in their life and that shouldn’t be the case.
Women prove that they possess strength and power by succeeding in traditionally male roles. That is most likely why Freshmen of Mountain View Jessica Cauble looks up to her older sister so much.
“My sister (Christina Sanders) has a son with Autism and her husband at the time was only with her for the money. Once he found out his son had autism, he left her, and she had to raise him by herself. This had an impact on me because I never hear her complain even though this was a very tough time in her life.” Cauble said admirably.
But women don’t only work hard to prove their ability to be as good as a man but earn the respect that they rightfully deserve. A resident at Yale and a former member of the Gwinnett community, Dr. Cassandra Dean, says she felt this way many times before.
“I think that when people already don’t think you have the role you do, you have to work harder to prove yourself,” Dean said thoughtfully.
Even as freshmen Cauble feels the need to prove that she can do anything the boys can and get the respect that she deserves as well.
“While taking PE for this semester, I have realized boys, and the teachers treat the girls differently because they think the girls can’t do the same amount work because of stereotypes.”
Women also feel like they need to fight for equality because statistics show men typically receive higher pay than their women co-workers.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “In 2015, female fulltime, year-round workers made only 80 cents for every dollar earned by men, a gender wage gap of 20 percent.”
Women must be strong to do what men can do under so much pressure. 90-year-old Storie Mccormick realizes that even though some men can’t.
“Yes (women are strong), because we work just as hard as boys,” Mccormick said.
Women also feel the need to be strong, so they can protect themselves because of men using their power to hurt women and the many accusations against powerful men prove that.
According to “The (incomplete) list of powerful men accused of sexual harassment after Harvey Weinstein” published by CNN by Doug Criss.
“It’s only been a few weeks since the sexual assault allegations against media mogul Harvey Weinstein exploded into public view. Since then there have been new allegations made against other powerful men in various industries seemingly almost every day.”
That is why women feel the need to be strong and protective of themselves.
“I feel like I need to be more protective of myself and more aware of my surroundings because men are more likely to harm me because they don’t think I’m capable of defending myself,” Cauble said.
Women work hard, so the next generation struggles less.
“I hope they feel like they can accomplish anything men can,” Dean said.
Cauble also expressed the same feelings.
“I hope when I have children my daughters can grow up in a society where everyone is treated equally no matter their gender, race, or religion,” Cauble said.
Women feel the need to fight for equality so people can stop making assumptions about their position based on their gender.
“Sometimes people outside my field don’t think I’m a doctor and mistake me for a nurse,” Dean said.
Women’s fight for equality is progressing, and if women keep working, their daughters and granddaughters will live in a better world.
“I think that women are moving in the right direction we went from having no rights to where we are and as each generation goes on girls will have more role models which are a great thing,” Dean said.
What women want is so simple, 90 year-old McCormick explains what women keep repeating for years in 8 short words.
“Boys and girls can do the same thing,” McCormick said.
Women can do anything, and we proved that time and time again. From starting a movement for equality to now being able to run for president and be able to be anything they want. But women’s work isn’t done. They still need to fight for their daughters, their pay, and for all the other girls who think they can’t be what the want to be because of a man.
Emily Williams is a freshman at Mountain View High School. She is a member of Exploring Venturing Program at the Gwinnett Citizen.
