Reading of “Tyrants of the Shop” by Fanny Fern provoked me to think about gender equality. This piece was published in 1867, when women were praised for being selfless and passive, and those of them who could not adapt to society’s expectations were strongly oppressed. Also that time was the beginning of long process when working – class women started fighting for emancipation. Women needed to earn money, but gender problem stood on their way and their working conditions were appalling. One of the voices for women’s defense was belonged to Fanny Fern, who was always concerned in daily life of ordinary women.
Since that time women’s lives have changed greatly. However, the problem of women’s discrimination still exists, especially in working conditions. Today women can choose a profession in any field such as law, business, politics, which they could not even dream about a hundred years ago. Women have so many opportunities and at the same time there always exists a so called “glass ceiling” problem. The metaphor “glass ceiling” is applied to the barriers that keep women from rising to the upper rungs. For example, according to the research of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2008, the median earnings of female full-time workers were 17% lower than the earnings of their male counterparts, and it does not even matter that women sometimes can be more qualified than men. It means that traditional beliefs of society about male and female gender roles, which always related males with good earnings, are still in force.
Have you experienced any of these issues directly?
I have not experienced these issues directly. However, one of my friends, who has a major in law and works in Manhattan always says that it is much better to have your own firm and be your own boss than wait when one of the upper positions will become free and they accidentally put you on that position. What about my boss. He, even after giving me a promotion, still keeps my salary on the same level with average workers, saying that the business is too slow. That is why, I cannot say exactly whether it is discrimination or the business is really facing hardships now. Either or, I also think that it is better to be your own boss, especially because now there are a lot of opportunities for that even for women.