Happy International Women's Day!

Gender is still an issue. Although the world has come a long way from the days where a woman could not even watch the same entertainment as men and could not vote, I cannot say that men and women are equal in status. On paper, they have the same rights. Legally, they are both humans and receive universal rights; but the law does not change the perception of women for some people.

In Wales, only 2 our of 50 top executives are women. A study by the EHCR showed that women were under-represented and limited in job progression.
In Japan, OL (Office ladies) are secretary-like workers that do a range of tasks from administrative work to serving tea. The OL trend began when "lifetime employment" was introduced in the 1950s, where the father would bring in the dough by working and dedicating his life to one company. In order to accommodate, the O.Ladies were secretarial assistants. It turns out that although lifetime employment is slowly declining, O.Ladies managed to stay.

In the U.S., nearly 46% of large businesses are owned by women. Forbes wrote an interesting article on how women may be better entrepreneurs than men. Yet, research has shown that the 70s and the 80s were the best times to raise children, as there was less of a conflict with work. For women, the issue is between family and work; women have always been associated with children, family, caring for life while men have always protected and fed their family. Can this stigma be broken or is this the equality between men and women, where they can fulfill their expectations?

I think no, because men do not fulfill their expectations and neither do women. It doesn't work in black and white. However, the perception in some countries where women are below men needs to change. i was actually passing by a Burger King today and its slogan read, "Just Whopper Your Way." I was slightly uncomfortable with the subtle reference to a 50s ad, where sexual innuendos or empowerment over women-- although completely irrelevant to the product, that was used to sell the product.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-12676564
http://www.forbes.com/2006/06/26/women-entrepreneurs-heffernan-cx_mh_0626womenentrpreneurs.html

Saya