While all the talk around gender-imbalance is good, as the conversation highlights how problematic the situation is, there is a problem with the way we’re trying to deal with it.
For too long both women-empowerers & feminists have used the cliche ‘women can do everything men can’ in order to demonstrate gender-equality. And there in itself is the crux of why we don’t see things getting better at the rate that is needed. Because the comparison itself is wrong. Why should the ‘everything that women can do’ be compared to what men do? Women have not been put on earth to do try to do everything that men can. They are here to do their own things, and in most cases, what they do is something that only they can. Yes, there is a BIG overlap between what men & women can BOTH do, but I have a feeling that by focussing on this overlap, the conversation around what is outside of this overlap is missing.
The statement should actually be – ‘what women do is unique. In some cases men may try to do the same but men can’t even think of doing some of the things a woman does’.
This thinking may actually accelerate the gender-balancing in society.
What we’re all doing is trying to apply brakes on a runaway train. What we need to do is attach an engine on its end and gun it in the opposite direction!