Will Women ever be Equal to Men?

By: Oliver Kendall, Student Voices Writer

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The question above is frankly a ridiculous one, because I believe that yes, women can be and will be considered equal to men, because they are. The real question is ‘why aren’t men and women treated equally?’. We are all human beings, we all have the same brain capacity, gender has nothing to do with our mental ability, so we are surely capable of the same things, and therefore equals. But that isn’t the way society sees it. Granted, there are some things that only people of one gender can do, like giving birth, but we all know that!

There is blatant sexism in society today, as evidenced by the fact that women often earn less than men for the same work. The Equality & Human Rights Commission found that female graduates often start on a wage of around £15,000 — £24,000, whereas men start on an around £24,000 or more. The biggest gap is seen in lawyers, where women take home around £20,000, about £8000 less than men.

This alone shows that sexism is a major problem in our country, and in society as a whole. But there is no place for it, so we must ensure it exists no longer. We cannot allow the hopes, dreams & aspirations of girls and young women to be damages and suppressed by the idea that they will never live up to men.

But sexism does not end with the gender pay gap alone, it is much more. There are blatant misogynists out there, who are willing to throw disgusting comments at women online.

For example, Labour MP, Jess Phillips, was subjected to some of the most disgraceful, vitriolic abuse online, all because she spoke against International Men’s Day. One such comment was “Shut up b**ch — get back to ironing your husband’s socks.” No one should ever, ever be spoken to in a manner so derogatory. That comment is reflective of some 19th century stereotypical woman, not of the Britain I believe in. Frankly, I don’t believe any stereotypes should be believed, but certainly not one as absurd as that.

Finally, in answer to the first question, yes. Yes, women will be equal to men. But we need action, real action. We need to ensure that no man can ever be paid more than a woman for the same work. We also have to make parliament more representative of Britain — more Black and ethnic minority MPs, more LGBT MPs, more female MPs and MPs of all different ages. Together, we can do this, but only if we stand in complete unity. Because “By the strength of our common endeavour, we achieve more than we achieve alone.”

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Meet the author:

Oliver Kendall

Writer

Labour & Co-operative Member, Anti Fascism, Anti Homophobia, Backing the Stronger In Camp, Member of Progress, Avid learner of French, Spanish & German, Almost understands US Politics, Hillary lover/enthusiast.

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