Gender Equality

Historically, it was the role of a man to provide for his household. Men were required to work in order to bring income back home. Women on the other hand remained in their homes and took any children they had. During the two world wars, when men left their homes to fight overseas, many women had no source of income, and had to become the providers for their families. Women began leaving the house to find work, while still taking care of their households. After the men returned from war, many women gave up their jobs and returned to their duty of maintaining their households. The women that stayed after the men reclaimed their jobs, experienced discrimination, sexism, and lower incomes than their male coworkers. Today the same problem still occurs; today in Canada, a woman earns seventy-four cents for every dollar a man earns in the same occupational position.

A group of girls in a Utah high school held a bake sale that stirred up some controversies among their fellow students and other members of the community. They sold chocolate chip cookies in their cafeteria; female students were required to pay seventy-seven cents for a cookie, while male students were charged a dollar. They did this to raise awareness of the gender wage gap in America where a woman earns seventy-seven cents for every dollar a male earns. They hoped the bake sale would give people a glimpse of gender inequality in the work force, and encourage them to do something to change it.

Gender inequality is not the only obstacle women face in the workplace; the glass ceiling is another obstacle used to slow down their progress. A glass ceiling is “An invisible upper limit in corporations and other organizations, above which it is difficult or impossible for women to rise in the ranks… It is glass because it’s not usually a visible barrier, and a woman may not be aware of its existence until she ‘hits’ the barrier.” So while women receive a lower salary than their male co-workers, they also receive fewer opportunities for progress.

Many may have argued that because men were the main providers of the household, they need a higher income. In this generation there are many different types of families, like families with single mothers and families with two mothers. In both case, women are the main providers of those households. As the society, the providers of the house, and the definition of a family change, the division of wages given to employees should change with it.

The situation in the workplace is a reflection of society; there is a gender gap in society where women are treated as less than men in many areas. If a woman feels comfortable wearing clothes that reveal “too” much of her skin, she is told she is being oppressed. She is told that she is oppressed for dressing to validate herself in the eyes of a man. If a woman wears clothes that cover her body, she is told that she is oppressed because she conforming to the standards set for her by men. Another area where women face oppression in society, is the career path they choose; if they choose not to have children and focus on their careers, they are told that they are selfish. If they choose to have children and be a stay at home, they are told that they are not fully living life and should do something for themselves. No matter which path a women chooses to take, she will always face oppression and inequality.

Gender inequality occurs not only in Canada and America, it happens all over the globe. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report measures the gender gap between males and females on factors of health, education, economy, and politics.  In 2014, Rwanda came in seventh on the list, without having been on the list in the previous year. Rwanda’s Gender Issues and Monitoring Service is responsible for Rwanda’s turn around in gender relations. The Gender Issues and Monitoring Service states that women must hold at least thirty percent of senior political positions; women now hold 64% of Rwanda’s parliament, which is more than any other country. I think Canada should adopt the same policy, not only in politics, but in other areas of the job force. With more women taking up working positions, it could result in less discrimination and equal pay.

Works Cited

http://www.payequity.gov.on.ca/en/about/pubs/genderwage/wagegap.php

 http://www.good4utah.com/story/d/story/gender-equality-bake-sale-causes-stir-at-utah-high/10246/0gE6cCkPA0mvNkLZEjyO4Q 

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/work/g/glass_ceiling.htm

https://www.takepart.com/article/2014/10/29/what-changed-rwanda-make-it-one-top-10-countries-gender-equality

Cultural Appropriation

Cultural appropriation is when elements of a culture are adapted by a different cultural group to the point where the elements of that culture are claimed by the foreign cultural group. Culture appropriation mainly occurs in areas like music, food and clothing.
Cultural appropriation in clothing is has always been a controversial topic. What is the difference between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation? Where is the common ground for the reconciliation of two cultures?
Âpihtawikosisân, author of the article “An Open Letter to Non-Natives in Headdresses,” goes over the fine line between appropriation and appreciation. Using the Native American Headdress as her primary example, she states that knowing the culture and history behind a traditional article of clothing will help lessen instances of cultural appropriation. She classifies the headdress as a restricted item because traditionally, the headdress is worn mainly by men in the community that have earned it; a non-Native man or woman wearing it without having earned it is where she draws the line between cultural appreciation and cultural appropriation. She goes on to further explain clothing articles in her culture that can be acceptably worn; such items include: flags, most clothing, and food. Âpihtawikosisân also went further to say that wearing an unrestricted symbol or item in the Native American culture would be more acceptable if it is sold and crafted by First Nations people.

The author of “Culture is Not Costume: Why Non-Africans Should Not Wear African Clothing,” also shares her frustration with the appropriation of African print. She notes that clothes that are seen as exotic and trendy only for a season are clothes that her people have always worn. She speaks about the rich African heritage and diversity behind many of the tribal clothes, and feels like putting them all in a label of “tribal” or “ethnic” clothes, ruins the traditional unique values behind the articles of clothing.

The topic of culture appropriation being discussed in the viewpoint of Aboriginal and African women shows that culture appropriation is more than just buying a design from another culture, but it shows the effects it has on the people of that culture and it also shows the ways it effects that culture.

Many people argue that although minorities always complain about culture appropriation, they too participate in it when they partake in aspects of European culture. The difference between cultural appropriation and cultural assimilation is the center of many debates.

Cultural assimilation is “where a minority ethnic group loses traditional cultural elements while gaining cultural elements from the ethnic majority over time, often for personal, economic, and political reasons.” People who are culturally assimilated do not go out of their way to borrow aspects from other cultures, but are so enveloped in the dominant culture that it takes over their original culture. Cultural assimilation can also be the only way minorities can prosper in society. Black women with natural hair can be used as an example of this. It is against many work place dress codes for women to wear their natural hair because it is deemed as wild and unprofessional. Many school students have been suspended because they refuse to alter their hair from its natural state. Assimilation is the only way they can be accepted in society.
Cultural appropriation is a touchy topic that really has no straight forward answer because each case and culture is treated differently. As mentioned earlier, knowledge about a culture is what is needed in order to stop cultural appropriation. When one is aware of the meanings of certain cultural pieces are, they would know whether it is okay to engage in that aspect of the culture.

-noname

Footnotes

[1] Nittle, Nadra. “What Is Cultural Appropriation and Why Is It Wrong?” About News. About. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://racerelations.about.com/od/diversitymatters/fl/What-Is-Cultural-Appropriation-and-Why-Is-It-Wrong.htm&gt;.

[2] “An Open Letter to Non-Natives in Headdresses.” Pihtawikosisn. 10 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://apihtawikosisan.com/hall-of-shame/an-open-letter-to-non-natives-in-headdresses/&gt;.

[3] Okona, Nneka M. “Culture Is Not Costume: Why Non-Africans Should Not Wear African Clothing.” Culture Is Not Costume: Why Non-Africans Should Not Wear African Clothing. Mycoloures, 28 Oct. 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.mycoloures.com/2014/10/culture-is-not-costume-why-non-africans.html&gt;.

[4] Callahan, Kat. “Why Assimilation Is Not Appropriation.” Groupthink. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://groupthink.jezebel.com/why-assimilation-is-not-appropriation-1062057775&gt;.