The Workplace Dilemma

There are unlimited initiatives that aim to empower women in the workplace yet not much recruitment for women into roles they are qualified for and or are male dominated. Women are still limited in improving their economic, social and educational situations. It is hard for women to thrive in their careers if we have less of them in the boardrooms, executive teams or as senior managers. They have the last say in workplace policies and strategies to bridge the unequal gender gap in the workplace. Women subject to sexual favours and other indecent acts to get the same opportunities men get merely by gender. This article discusses some challenges women face in the workplace and growing their careers. 

It is as if being a woman, I need to earn the same respect, opportunity by working extremely hard while less or equally qualified men merely have to prove anything. We need to understand fully the challenges women face in growing their careers and the strategies that will uplift and truly acknowledge women. How do we expect strategies and policies to fully develop or implement if regulators do not represent women in the workplace?

Many women face deprivation of promotions and new endeavours due to pregnancy. This is clear discrimination. It is as if a mother’s brain pauses during pregnancy, let alone before the baby turns a year. New fathers are never deprived as new mothers are. They prosper in their careers and the belief is that they can handle anything. A working new mother may be given flexible working hours to manage through new endeavours or promotions. COVID19 has proved that working from home is now very possible through technology and good time management. We should allow women the same career growth men enjoy despite the natural process of pregnancy. It is even worse when women are married. They are challenged in growing their careers as opportunities are withheld from them to “take care of the family”. Women should choose how they manage their personal affairs themselves and thriving at work should not be questioned by family or marital statuses.

I remember earlier in my work life when a male colleague who I had no sexual or relationship interest in hit my butt slightly but intentionally. It happened repeatedly over weeks until I sent him a warning email. I should have made a formal complaint immediately. Sexual offenders get away with a lot and instil fear and uneasiness in their victims. It needs to end and first we must speak about it. In fact, the offenders go on to get the promotions and preference at work over qualified-deserving women while women continue to be suffer. Many women experience sexual harassment in the workplace and it can be worse than what I experienced. Sometimes the offender is someone who is in a position to mentor, hire or promote the victim. The whole experience is traumatizing and sensitive to discuss and many victims are forced to never speak about it openly even if they wished. It is mentally draining when you have been sexually harassed and it affects work performance. In the now if any colleague dares to harass another, dare to report it and let the law take its cause.  

Women clothing is scrutinized to a point were gender-biases are noticed. I know that in my field of study for instance, a woman deems unfit for an Information Technology or Computer Science job if she wears heels and lipstick. It is as if being in IT means a woman must present herself manly and nerdy. It is daunting that more emphasis is put on how women dress instead of the skills and knowledge they possess. Of course, there are exemptions of jobs where one may not be able to perform work with certain clothing. It is not understandable how I am expected to wear no high heels, a dress and lipstick for a Software Engineering or Business/Systems Analyst role. Women continue to face judgement in their choice of clothing at work. I have not heard of men confrontational sessions for their clothing. Many freely wear tight pants that display clear protrusion of their manhood and butt without Human Resource objection. Can we all just wear clothing we are comfortable working in or allow dressing-code restrictions that are not gender biased? 

I will not do any justice if I forget to mention the race issue. Women of color have challenges in getting specialized and critical roles in certain industries. It is sad that racism is still a thing women of color have to deal with even in their continent of origin. It is a thing of the lighter the skin shade the luckier and more preferred a woman is to succeed in her career. There are certain jobs and in many industries where women are discriminated against because of their skin color not to forget the tribalism problem. They are deprived and belittle even though qualified to do the job. Somehow, men of color do not face the same problem as much as women do.

Women are increasingly enrolling to study in fields of STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) which are male dominated from the industry leaders to the employees. Men not only head majority of STEM divisions but across all divisions and industries locally and internationally. The dominance is disturbing. The Affirmative Action concerning women is currently at little practice. Women with no political or wealth connection usually must prove themselves more than men for the same work opportunities or funding opportunities. It is one thing to talk Women Empowerment and another to blindly-exclude women in positions that they are empowered and qualified to have. More women get recruitment in supervisory positions to blind the sight of the Reality of Male Dominance in decision-making, strategic, critical and specialized skilled jobs. This is absurd strategy. Qualified women are fit for the highest level of authority and leadership. 

In conclusion, these are very brief challenges women face at work because of their gender. There are a million more unmentioned. We need to deal with the scarcity and deprivation of opportunities for qualified and capable women. We need to take up space in unchartered waters and demand what is of deserving for women and women must do it for themselves too. Women must demand the respect and treatment they are not given. It will start with being disgusted by the status quo, speaking about it and demanding change.  

We Should All Be Feminists!

Recently and most of my life I have heard of both women and men refer to gender equality movements as uplifting, favouring and glorifying women alone. It is a pity that there is not much awareness about Gender Equality and Feminism. It is only because of previous and current disadvantages that one gender is being uplifted and more preferred than the other gender. Let us engage in the discussion about what feminism is and why is it important to all of us. 

A woman is a female human being. She is made of so much wonder as everything in the universe is. This means that women are as special men. Women are just as human as men are. They are equals of men even though their body components are different due to a variation in hormones. Naturally, women have more oestrogen as females compared to men thus it affects our body organs, emotions and reproduction among many elements. The intelligence of women is not less than that of men. Their physical ability is not limited. We can be trusted to make excellent decisions in all aspects of life, starting from home, school, work and community. We should all be feminists. We should be children, women and men who advocate for women's rights. It is important. 

Feminism is an Affirmative Action as it allows us to allocate opportunities to previously disadvantaged and discriminated women. It is positive discrimination. Women's Rights Movements date back to the 1800's these activities happened because of mistreatment and misfortunes that females experienced. Women did not have the right to vote before the 1900's although people in power need to develop and rule communities that accommodate both men and women. Birth control was illegal even though women had no right to decide their sexual encounters until in 1960 when the first contraceptive was produced-commercially. Women were and are still paid less than men for the same jobs and are discriminated against employment in some industries especially STEM (Science Technology engineering Mathematics) recruitment.

The role of a woman in society was domestic within the household and it is unbelievable to witness it in this era. We need to take up any role they want and is suitable for them. Feminism means that we do not have gender roles at all. Both men and women may take care of children equally. Both may change the nappies and bathe a child. It means now that whoever is most available and capable of cooking may do so to feed a household. Women do not have to take care of the house and give no economic benefit outside the household. Women can be free to decide how they live their lives.   

There is a lot to talk about when it comes to feminism and I need to follow the link to FEEDSPOT and other platforms to inform and educate yourself and others about Feminism. Subscribe to Ordinary Women and engage with me. We should all be feminists and live in harmony.

The Shifts We Need To Feel

Feelings are not often observed yet they easily influence our ways of life. Let us not forget the matters of the heart too. The past weeks I have had so much time building on my thoughts for the blog content and less time to write it down. I wondered and imagined what it would read like. Today I want to share with you some of the thoughts about my recent gratefulness reflections on many matters of life. It is amazing how we can find pleasure in the little things and how easily they can bring us down too.

Sometimes I cannot get over the fact that I have only had 10 years of life with my mother. The 10^th of May was Mother’s Day and it was hard not to think of what life would be with her presence. Today I just want to appreciate the 10 years I have experienced with my mother. Furthermore, I am grateful for all the mother figures I have starting with my extremely loving father, siblings, relatives, colleagues, friends and total strangers. That is not all because there is so much to appreciate. There are many deaths around the globe now. We must be glad to be alive and for the lives of our loved ones. I want to let you know that I am grateful you are reading this article. The most important thing is we must keep in mind that fate can separate us anytime. 

Late March 2020 was very nerve-racking for me to walk in the streets or be in public places. It is when the news in my country Namibia, was fuming with the Novel Corona Virus stories. How can a mere virus crumble economies by shutting down businesses, reducing the workforce and flipping the world upside down? It is scary and I could not quite comprehend it all until a few days into lockdown Stage 1. My country had 16 confirmed cases and we have 12 recovered as of today. The first week of lockdown was strange. The fact that I was still working and had to come home to someone who was isolating scared me. What if I contracted the virus and came home to infect my dear friend? I had two trips abroad planned and budgeted as vacations in April and May. Meanwhile the government passed travel and movement restrictions. I could not imagine what my time would be like without a trip somewhere during Easter or activities during my usual vacation months. I would not be able to celebrate my long overdue degree graduation with everyone I imagined to attend. The gyms would not operate. There was not going to be any sale of alcohol and sometimes wine is my favorite companion. The way we do things and experience life has been affected tremendously. I honestly like to believe I feel a great shift in everything and everyone right now.

I am guilty of wondering and worrying so much a few times. I know we feel so worthless and hopeless sometimes. However, we cannot ever have such emotions and other negative emotions for too long. I think a day is enough to snap out of it. It is so easy for us to feel and think negative. Most of it eventually seem unnecessary as I ponder on it again. Life goes on whether we worry or not. This should be the only reason we ought to enjoy and live in the moment. It starts with Positive Vibes. We need to feel good about ourselves, our friends, our families, our colleagues and really everything in our lives.

I bet you remember the saying - “Money makes the world go round”. It is true but it is not the only thing thus get a good attitude too. There is no time to take anything or anyone for granted now. In fact, there should never be time for it. It is silly. Many people lost their main sources of income because of the COVID19 global epidemic. Some lost all of their income. People lost their jobs both educated and uneducated people. I think it is important to be grateful for stable jobs and sources of income now more than ever. Let us keep in mind that no one is immune to unforeseen circumstances. We need to appreciate every little thing and everyone the world has to offer. We need to make those overdue phone calls and check in on a friend or relative. It is time to clean that closet and give or sell everything you do not need. It is time to be nice and kind. It is time to be there for each other. We ought to be distinctive now.

The fact that a pandemic can make the world go still makes me want to live and experience things and everyone I avoid for no good reason. Does everyone and everything not have something to offer? I want to make more time for my friends and family. I want to take the tequila shots I promised. I want to enjoy a coffee with my colleagues at the office. I want to answer the ignored calls. I want to steal the kiss I have always wanted. I want to save, invest and plan for the unforeseen and expected. I want to budget and not waste a cent. I want to be more responsible and accountable. We are not immune to losing everything we have worked for or a special person. Because life can just unfold uncontrollably without warning. It is so easy for life to flip upside down and I do not want to have a moment of regret. Sometimes we need to realize and act on the ignition circumstances bring to us. We are not to be down because of bad situations. They give us another chance to life. They give us time to change. It is a time to be grateful, learn, forgive and improve our livelihoods. We ought to live this way.

I am grateful that I have a chance to life, love and laughter; that I can make an impact on someone or something. Most importantly, I am grateful that others have allowed and valued me to be a part of their lives. George Sand says that the only happiness in life is to love and be loved. I need to mention that a good friend of mine will add to that by encouraging commitment and consistency. She says we should experiment commitment and consistency in our relationships, our food choices and all things. I think it is even more resourceful to carry it in our bags and pockets all the time. It is beautiful and I want you to experience the world as such. Be committed and consistent to gratefulness.