Name: Samantha Parton
Grade: Year 11
Age: 16 Years
School: Katherine High School
Hometown and State: Katherine, Northern Territory
LIFTING US UP – How can women and girls empower each other and their communities in times of uncertainty and change?
Growing up in rural Australia it never occurred to me how much my gender could limit me. I grew up on a station helping dad fix the tractor, feeding and cleaning out the animal pens and welding new pens together. These were all just jobs that had to be done and gender played no role in that. In Year 7 I had to attend School of the Air and found that my gender limited access to many of the activities I loved doing. It was strange to me that there were “boys” activities and “girls” activities and I didn’t really fit into either.
As a result of my own experiences I know that gender should not set boundaries or limit our potential. This is the message that we need to get across to females of all ages; gender should not be seen as an obstacle.
If we start teaching both boys and girls, from a young age, that we are not limited by our gender then they will grow up believing that they can do anything that they put their mind to. As more and more girls start realizing and believing that they can do anything, then the stereotypical beliefs of society will finally change. This will then allow women to pursue whatever dreams that they have, regardless of their gender.
Together, we need to start changing people’s perspective on how gender determines what jobs we get. The changes don’t have to be huge, but if there are enough small changes it could have a ‘snowball effect’ that carries further into society. Strong female role models are an important part of the journey to change the world’s idea of what is and isn’t expected from females. We need to see more women in leadership positions and careers which are generally male dominated.
We, as the female population, need to start seeing that if we put our minds to something we can achieve it!
Once it becomes accepted that girls can do whatever boys do, then it is the responsibility of all females to then help one another and reinforce gender equality into future generations. If I can help just one girl realize that she can achieve whatever she sets out to accomplish, then she can also go and help others too.
Hopefully then one day in the future both girls and boys will regard inequality as something that they only read about in history books. They will realize how much more equal life has become through the action of strong woman and girls who have come before them.
In order to make a real difference we need to educate both males and females that gender should not make a difference to what can be achieved. If we get more parents to start teaching their children at a young age that both boys and girls are capable of doing anything, then half the battle is already won! By doing this those children will grow up like I did, with parents who told me if I work hard I can achieve whatever I want to do in life. If we keep this up gender inequality will become a thing of the past.