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Women and the workplace

Ishara JAYAWARDANE

Women have come a long way and in Sri Lanka unlike most other countries women have greater freedom than in the past. They have excelled in almost every field that involves men and in some cases superseded men. Yet there is discrimination to a certain extent against women in the workplace.

Professor B.A. Tennyson Perera

According to Professor B.A. Tennyson Perera of the Department of Sociology, University of Sri Jayawardenepura there are two reasons for discrimination. “ One is a historical reason. Sri Lankan society is a traditional agricultural society first of all. Our society can be called a patrilineal society. Father is the dominant figure in the family. Therefore the advantage is with the male section more than the female section. As a result our society always elevates the status of the man rather than the women. Even though Buddhism played a great role in enhancing the life of women, still, the point is man is dominant rather than woman.”

Since our society is a patrilineal society all the decisions are made by the father. He is the prime person dealing with all kinds of issues within the family. He plays the dominant role. Therefore males think that women should devote their life to the kitchen, and also bearing and rearing children.

The Second reason for discrimination is a biological one. Perera pointed out that when a female is pregnant she is limited to the house. She has to spend a number of months at home limited to the house. She can’t do her normal work that she did before she was pregnant. She is devoted to her child and has to spend a number of months at home. These biological differences contribute to discrimination against women.

“In society there is a belief that men are superior and women are inferior. Biologically they can’t do hard work, they can only do soft work. In this male dominated society the man is the key figure in the official life as well as the family life. When he goes to office he thinks he is the dominant person. There is no competition from the female. There is no rivalry. Therefore men are in the hierarchy of the society” stated Perera.

This is one reason why certain companies pay women less than men. In some departments male and females work together equally. But you can see discrimination in the state sector. In upper hierarchical jobs there is no discrimination but at the clerical level you can see rapid discrimination against females.

Discrimination against women in employment is prevalent in case of lower grade employment and not upper grade employment.

“By and large discrimination is now disappearing systematically. There is the Ministry of Women’s affairs, which is intervening in cases where women are abused. Discrimination in employment is now systematically disappearing” added Perera.

Perera pointed out that historically gender relations have not been equal. In the past men did the outside work and women did the inside work. Why? Because women were not able to face the challenges in the field, at sea or in the forest. Historically gender relations have been unequal. Even in Indian Brahman society women are inferior.

Perera also stated that there is a system in place to address the grievances of women. There is a Women’s Bureau or Ministry of Women’s affairs. In some places women are in dominance. Now more responsible ladies are working in the upper hierarchy.

“Discrimination is more prevalent in the private sector than the government sector because in the private sector there is no control. There is work discipline but no sexual discipline. There is also a “shyness”. Even males are shy. Because they feel if they reveal their experiences people they care about might get hurt. Only 20% will complain. The other 80% will keep quiet” pointed out Perera.

In order to control this process, it is more important to educate people about these issues. Women themselves should protect themselves from outside forces. The women should not allow themselves to be harassed by others.

However today a lot of doors have opened for women in Sri Lankan society. Yes there is discrimination by certain men but this applies not only to gender but to race and creed as well. We don’t live in a perfect world. But we can strive to be positive and each in our own way strive to make a change in our society.

Can a man be a feminist?

Aditha DISSANAYAKE

If you are a man and if you happen to be in my mailing list, chances are you received an email from me two days ago asking you if you are a pro feminist. Even if you did open that mail and read it, sad to say, you did not send me a reply.

Of the three men who responded, one said he did not wish to state his views if they would be printed on the Gender Forum, but wished me luck with my article. The other two are worth quoting here in full but let’s keep that for later.

The almost total lack of response to my query is ample evidence that the pro feminists or men who acknowledge they are feminists are almost non existent here in Sri Lanka. But not so in other parts of the world.

In the USA, for example, the organization called Men Can Stop Rape has a campaign with the forceful slogan “My strength is not for hurting”. In Canada the movement called the White Ribbon Campaign has helped men question other men about violence against women. In Ireland individuals like Colm Dempsey, a police officer, so convinced of the need for men to combat the culture of male violence against women,has held exhibitions with over 365 anti-domestic violence posters collected from around the world. Dempsey says the best compliment he has ever received is to be referred to as a male feminist. He thinks “It’s vital for women to see that there are men committed to women’s rights.”

But can a man ever really be a feminist? Can a man call himself a feminist when feminism is seen by most as a movement developed by women for women? Moreover, can a “male feminist,” be defined as a man who embodies the beliefs of feminists, but is (obviously) not a woman?

In order to find the answers to these questions it is perhaps best to identify what is meant by the word “feminism”. If you ignore the sub divisions like Marxist feminism, environmental feminism and radical feminism, and the arguments about the so called third-wave of feminism and post- feminism, you are left with the straightforward, non controversial definition given by the Oxford English Dictionary: feminism is”the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of sexual equality”.

Criteria

But is it really as straightforward as this? Can everyone who supports the idea of women’s rights call themselves a feminist, or are there other criteria that have to be met before you are allowed to use this label to describe yourself? Can men ever be “complete” feminists, or should pro-feminist men be consigned to the sidelines as welcome allies in the struggle for gender equality, but disqualified from full membership because of their privileged position as fully paid members of the “Y chromosome club”?

The questions continue. While many feminists welcome the support given by men to the women’s cause, there is still a great deal of debate over the issue of a man’s entitlement to call himself a feminist. The argument is said to rage even amongst pro-feminist men, with some arguing that gender should be no barrier to full and active participation, and others arguing that as feminism is rooted in the women’s liberation movement, a movement founded by women for the advancement of women, men have no right to lay claim to this tag.

Yet others claim that if too many men jump on the feminism bandwagon, men could eventually end up dominating the movement. Some men, they argue, automatically assume a dominant role when they become activists, claiming to be better feminists than feminist women, and failing to recognize and challenge their own sexist behaviour.

Thus argues Brian Klocke of the National Organization for Men against Sexism, “Although I believe that men can be pro-feminist and anti-sexist, I do not believe we can be feminists in the strictest sense of the word in today’s society. Men, in this patriarchal system, cannot remove themselves from their power and privilege in relation to women. To be a feminist one must be a member of the targeted group (i.e a woman).”

Accepted norm

Buddhike Iddagoda who sent a reply to my e message confesses he believes “women should not be treated differently on things that they want to do or want to be” but adds “The accepted norm is the man to be the leader. I believe this is something which comes naturally and any change would definitely be detrimental to the natural balance of this world.” He feels rather than fighting for equality, men and women should understand and respect each other’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as the exact role they have to play in their individual capacity in society.”

According to Dr. A.D Priyanka Baddevithana “Feminism as a movement has to be supported by women and understood by men.” Dr. Baddevithana says “I understand the validity of a level playing field where women should have the right to endeavor for the same economic prowess as men, but other than in countries like Sweden, women are kept at a low level of education through family and society expectations to be functioning as male-dependent and male dominated entities, which is far from the ideal.”

Back to square one. Are you a feminist? “ No”, says Dr. Baddevithana. “I am a humanist”. “I do not know whether I’m a total feminist or a balanced feminist” says Buddhike. He deserves the last word. “I would prefer “respect” and “humanism” over “feminism”.

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Gender equality and development

Compiled by Nipuni WIMALAPALA

The World Bank’s World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development details big strides in narrowing gender gaps but shows that disparities remain in many areas. It highlights the fact that gender equality is a core development objective in its own right and it is also smart economics. Greater gender equality can enhance productivity, improve development out comes for the next generation, and make institutions more representative.

According to the report, gender refers to the social, behavioural, and cultural attributes, expectations and norms associated with being a woman or a man. Gender equality refers to how these aspects determine how women and men relate to each other and to the resulting difference in power between them. The report focuses on three key dimensions of gender equality identified by men and women.

This report mainly focuses on the economics of gender equality and development. It uses economic theory to understand what drives differences in key aspects of welfare between two genders. It considers their access to education, health, economic opportunities and productive resources and the ability to make effective choices and take action. The report raises concerns not only over economic outcomes, but also other aspects such as human endowments, women’s agency which are important in human welfare.

According to the report, gender equality does matter as an instrument for development. It shows that gender equality helps enhance economic efficiency and improve other development aspects in three ways. First, it removes barriers that prevent women from having the same access as men to education, economic opportunities and productive inputs can generate broad productive gains which is very important in more competitive and globalized world. Secondly, improving women’s absolute and relative status feeds many other development outcomes,including those for their children. Thirdly, leveling the playing field where women and men have equal chances to become socially and politically active, make decisions and shape policies,is likely to lead over time to more representative and more inclusive, institutions and policy choice and thus to a better development path.

The report reveals some positive outcomes of increased gender equality. It shows that the education enrollment is equal in most of the countries in the world. Gender gaps in primary education have closed in almost all countries. In secondary education, girls now outnumber boys in 45 countries and majority of university students are female in 60 countries. Life expectancy has also increased considerably during recent history. Since 1980, women are living longer than men in all parts of the world. In low-income countries, women now live 20 years longer on average than they did in 1960. Labour force participation has also increased in a very good way. Today over half a billion women have joined the world’s labour force over the last 30 years as women’s participation in paid work has risen in most of the developing world.

There are some classic examples of gender-related development results. In Senegal, Tanzania, Lao and in Ethiopia there are gender related development associated with increased economic opportunities, promoting access to basic services and generating knowledge.

The report also pays attention to Sri lanka and Malaysia which are mentioned as successful stories when it come reducing maternal mortality. It says that, “to overcome the range of institutional obstacles that hampers the effective workings of health systems, Sri Lanka and Malaysia adopted integrated and phased approaches. And they did it with modest total public expenditures on health. Health programmes in both countries exploited synergistic interactions of health care with basic education, water and sanitation, malaria control and integrated rural development, including building rural roads which helped deal with obstetric emergencies. Upgraded managements, professional medical staffs, steady supply of drugs and equipments, effective transportation and communication were provided.

Even though there are great achievements in gender parity there are certain gender gaps persist even in rich countries,states the report. The report identifies four main areas where gender gaps are most significant both intrinsically and in terms of their potential development payoff. For all these areas direct policy efforts are required since higher incomes by themselves will do little to reduce remaining gaps. The main issues remain are, excess deaths of girls and women. Females are more likely to die compared to males in many low and middle income countries than their counterparts in rich countries. This is growing in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in childhood and the reproductive years and in the countries hardest hit by the HIV/AIDS. Disparities in girls schooling is another issue. Despite the overall progress, primary and secondary education school enrollments for girls remain rather lower than for boys for disadvantaged population in many Sub-Saharan countries and some parts of South Asia.

The next issue is, unequal access to economic opportunities. Women rather work as unpaid family labourers compared to men. They earn less income and work in less profitable sectors. And as a result women everywhere tend to earn less than men. The fourth issue mentioned in the report is, differences in voice in households and in society which is visible everywhere in the world. In many countries, women especially poor women have less say over decisions and less control over resources in their households. And also women participate less in formal politics than men and are under-represented in its upper echelons.

According to the report, to overcome the persisting gender gaps, the domestic policies must be strongly established and the international community also can play its role to achieve the expected progress. The fundings should be directed particularly to support the poorest countries to reduce the gender gaps, more efforts should be put to improve the availability of gender-disaggregated data and to foster more experimentation and systematic evaluation of mechanisms to improve women’s access to markets, services and justice and the partnership should extend beyond governments and development agencies to include the private sector, civil society organizations and academic institutions in developing and rich countries.