Name: Ianna Lalim
Community/State: Katherine, Northern Territory
School: St Josephs Catholic College
Age/Grade: 18 Years, Year 12
Overcoming the odds – how can we push through barriers to achieve gender equality?
Growing up it never occurred to me that my gender might determine anything about the choices I had in life beyond public bathrooms and the box I ticked in official-looking forms. Certainly, I did not imagine that my gender could speak for me. My parents taught my brothers and I that it is hard work, determination, and using our intelligence that plays the strongest roles in what we will one day become. And for years this philosophy was untouched. But see the thing is that as a child it is easy to live in that bliss that ignorance allows.
When I was in middle school my class was to do a performance in which the main characters were prophets. There were seven spots and nine people auditioned, only two girls, myself included. The deciding was merely a class affair and we had a visitor in the room. She was a woman. Our teacher asked the visitor if she would like to pick. She chose all boys. And her reasoning? Prophets were powerful, authoritative people and she thought boys would better fill those shoes. Our readings were inconsequential, that I had memorized my part to stand out was inconsequential. Gender was the deciding factor. And just like that, my ignorance towards gender inequalities was cracked.
That women are under-represented in science, technology, engineering and maths is sadly obvious (Foley, 2018). Women are so often linked to domestic tasks over men, and are oft labelled with stifling stereotypes, and laden with discriminative clothing and behavioural expectatons. I mentioned earlier that a younger me did not know gender inequality. I lived in an ignorance but that ignorance was the truth; gender is not a deciding factor in who we can be. That it might be is socially constructed, that it could speak on behalf of us is something taught. I believe that the solution lies in education. It is our duty to teach, and show, and represent for younger generations that they are not constrained by their gender. The future of gender equality is bright because we are educated on this, and because of programs like Country to Canberra which specifically open doors to show girls their potential.
Despite the gender inequalities around me I firmly believe that gender will not play a role in deciding my future and I plan to succeed and play my own part in demonstrating this truth.
References:
Foley, C. (2018). Where are all the women in STEM?. Available: https://blog.csiro.au/where-are-all-the-women-in-stem/. Last accessed 2nd Sept 2019.
Ianna’s Power Trip is kindly being sponsored by AgriFutures Australia!