Name: Nargis Sherzad
Community/State: Swan Hill, Victoria
School: Swan Hill College
Age/Grade: 17 Years, Year 11
Overcoming the odds – how can we push through barriers to achieve gender equality?
How can we push through barriers to achieve gender equality?
The most important aspect of gender equality is that not many people are aware of it or understand their rights when it comes to gender equality. Therefore, raising awareness through setting up volunteering programs to educate women on their rights and how to take a step forward in order to reach their goals, is crucial. This will, in turn, encourage women to take on more leadership roles in all aspects of their life and encourage people to support more gender diverse media and helps recognise that the patriarchy is still being practised in many countries including Australia.
These programs will need to support women to become a part of industries that are male dominated. This can be done through creating a program where women from male dominated industries volunteer to come and talk to young people: visiting schools, social events and becoming visible role models for young individuals. Only then can the broader community become aware and participate in the change. In the workplace it is essential to place policies that allow gender equality for all employees, such as equal pay. Therefore, organisations need to try different formats for payments and set and track targets that work best for their company and their employees. Women earned 80.5% of what men earned in 2017, based on the annual median earnings for full-time, year-round workers. Women earned a median of $43,002 annually in 2017, and men earned $53,420.
As individuals it is our responsibility to take achievable action now. We can support gender equality programs that already exist by volunteering, this will improve understanding and education on the subject. Parents also play an important role by influencing the next generation of men and women. Their words, actions and posture towards societal and systemic expectations and myths about gender equality, allows for growth and reshaping of the next generation. It is up to us, here and now, to make a difference for the future generation of women. Many social norms, stereotypes and systems bring barriers between women and their full potential. Taking each step one at a time, such as the stereotype that boys wear blue and girls wear pink will allow our daughters to have the same rights as our sons in everyday life. The actions you take towards your children now are what will speak for the future of gender equality.