Gender Vs Sex
Hi all,
I am just learning from all of you about the issues of gender, in most cases am much behind in this topic it is not really new to me but I had no interest in it in the past days.
My reasons for this are (may not sound so well to others but I fill its a reality):
- A man is a man and nothing will change that
- why gender, according to our creation we are given roles to play. such as
a man shall be the head of the house
- while a woman is a helper,
e.g. at work places a man and a woman have same qualifications and the are employed at the same level lets say Director of Department, now see that gender hear look not to be balanced. the salary scale for the female director will be low as compared to the Male 's. one of the reasons could be that a woman will have alot of days of due to nature, again a woman with child will be given maybe three months until she delivers a baby. so you will understand that it is worth to employ a male than a female because all male's time will be used to perform in their organisation. maybe it is because men can work longer hours as compared to women.
I need guidance were dores the gender issue comes in
Thanks Rabrod for your contribution. I find it unfortunate that female directors are paid less than their male counterparts for the reasons you have given. To me these are policy matters that need re-visiting. Just because a female employee takes time out to attend to family responsibilities doesn't make her less valuable than the male counterpart. There is need to realise that the role she plays in child bearing and child raising means thatsocieity can expect better citizens in future. Work places need to adopt gender friendly environments e.g. why not have a space where females that have babies can be allowed to breast-feed when a baby is brought from home? Why not allow a female with a baby travel with a maid to a workshop outside town? with costs for the maid met by the employer? In addition, I think employers should not look at the quantity of time employees spend at work...but should consider more the quality that they bring to work.
Thanks Gabkon,
I think it is an excellent suggestion that Women should be allowed to travel with their maids or nanny for official trips/workshops with all expenses paid by the office. Humm, i like that, i think Ministries that deal with gender issues should take that idea up and start working on it. If such a policy is in place it will ensure that women contribute effectively during the nursing/child rearing stages
Rabrod, Do not worry, that's why we are here to help one another.
Firstly gender in itself is just a term and no one can advocate for gender. What we do advocate for is gender equality and equity. Without confusing you, I should state that what we are saying in plain language is this: Men and women should exist as equal people and be availed with equal opportunities"
Therefore, women and men ought to respect each other not because they are male or female but because they are humans. If a women is qualified and applies for a top job, you should give her the job and not discriminate against her because she is a woman. The reason why women spend more time at home, getting pregnant and raising children and missing work or going on maternity leave, is because most men do not care to also participate in this important task. Other organisations now have paternity leave which is given to the man when his wife is on maternity leave so that they can both take care of raising the child. As a child development psychologist, I can tell you that the first few weeks of a newly born baby are very vital for bonding with the parent who is around and men should be allowed to be there too..
As to who heads the house? That is an issue that a couple needs to communicate effectively on, have mutual understanding and respect so that they find ways of complimenting one another. It is not the job of the NGOs to tell a couple how they ought to head the households, but what we can do is that we ensure that they both respect each other and treat each other with love, diginity and respect. In such a home, gender based violence will not be around. And so we will be bringing about gender equality.
Thanks Remmy for the point raised on men also playing a part in raising kids. I remember taking a paternity leave of 5 days in 2007 when my 3rd girl was born. I was one of the first in my organisation to take this kind of leave and it sounded so strange but it was worthwhile for me and something I could encourage for other men to do.
Hi Remmy
You're right. Young men these days are really playing serious roles in supporting their wives in raising children. I have been getting my son ready for school everyday and I pick him from school as well. if for a reason I'm unable to pick my son from school, the first question he would ask whoever picked him is: why is papa? My wife travelled to Manchester, UK for a PhD when our son was three years. I cared for him without the help of the so-called house-helps. Our philosophy has always been that whatever each of us do is for the benefit of the family and so we support each other in everything.
I don't believe that the argument of women going for maternity leaves justifies that they be paid lower than their male counterparts. what about that sickly male employee who is in and out of office on sick leaves, what about that alcoholic male who will not waste any opportunity to sneak out of the office to get a tot, what about that male employee who spends most of the work time doing unrelated work? Of course we should not be unfair to our women folk since when they go for maternity leaves, there is always a man involved and remember the product of that leave is another worker who will maybe be more efficient.
