Name: Abbey Buchanan
Community/State: Nyngan, New South Wales
School: Nyngan High School
Age/Grade: 18 Years, Year 12
Overcoming the odds – how can we push through barriers to achieve gender equality?
“It must suck to be a girl, you are against the odds.”
This is the moment that reality breaks, the moment that your eyes are widened. You are told that it must suck to be you. It must suck to be you purely because of the way you were born. But what are these odds they keep referring to?
According to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WEGA), here are the odds:
On average per week women, earn $240 less than men.
However:
The pay gap is closing in most states and territories across the country.
Most?
The pay gap in the Northern Territory continues to grow.
So here are the odds: standing before us in the mode of statistics. Telling me I am at a disadvantage. So what can we do? WEGA demonstrates to us that this process of gender equality is moving too slowly and in some cases is even moving in the wrong direction. The solutions seem to be obvious, we’ve seen them all before.
Awareness:
Emma Watson, a famous actor and activist who pushes for gender equality. She was on our screens while saying:
“We need to live in a culture that values and respects and looks up to and idolises women as much as men.”
This is a well known actor who is leading us to the right path. How is the statistic is still leering over us?
Education:
Malala Yousafzai is an author and activist who strives for gender equality. She urges us to create a future where girls can receive the same educational opportunities as boys:
“It is necessary to educate girls and empower women.”
There is no irony in the fact that the educated, like Malala, are telling us the solution to gender inequality is to educate.
Action:
But wait, there is no action. There is no walking up to The Man and facing Him. There is no asking Him to justify His choices. There is no pulling down His toxic masculinity that has masked the abuse and assaults of Her for years. There is no asking Him to be reasonable, to give Her a chance.
This is not about Him and Her. If we want to push through barriers to achieve gender equality then we need to do it together. Because the strength of a united front can push down any horribly historical barrier.