The Wage Gap

Some call the wage gap a myth but Maclean's breaks down the numbers for readers. The total earnings of working women are 31% less than the the total earnings of working men. This gap is even wider for women of colour at 37.5%. Some can argue women are working less and or take on less paying jobs. If this is the case, we must ask why. Why are women working less? Why are they taking on less paying jobs? More questions follow these. What are they doing instead of working? Are they homemakers instead? Have they received the same education and job opportunities compared to their male counterparts?

Maclean's reports a study where the results shows that women are less likely to be employed, even if they have the same credentials as a man. The study sent out identical resumes, but some with a man’s name and some with a woman’s name. Resumes with the woman’s name were less likely to be considered. If they were chosen to be a candidate, they were offered a lower salary compared to the male candidate with the identical resume. Clearly, employers have a bias against women which decreases their chance of being employed.

The publication also points out that women are over-represented in low paying occupations. In 2013, they reported that only 22% of a high paying industry, STEM workforce, were taken by women. What is stopping women from entering STEM? There have been studies that show parents treating their sons and daughters differently by talking to their sons more about numbers and using teaching language, which already puts boys at an advantage in learning (Leaper et al. 196). It seems that women are given less opportunities to learn and be interested in subjects that they can learn, utilize in their careers, and earn a higher salary.

Leaper, Campbell, and Christia S. Brown. "Sexism in Schools." Advances in Child

Development and Behavior, vol. 47, 2014, pp. 189.

The Objectification of Women

One of our co-designers, Carol Eugene Park, mentioned that 1 out of 3 women are sexually assaulted. Sisters doubled checked these numbers. In 2013, CNN reported that 1 out of 3 women experience physical or sexual violence. In February 2018, NPR reported that 81% of women and 43% of men experienced sexual harassment. During my discussion with Carol, she brought up her experience with men bringing up the fact that their gender experience these incidents as well. I responded that I have heard women bringing up this statement too in order to make feminism seem unnecessary. However, if all sexes and genders were truly treated equal, the statistics should reflect the population. For instance, the world is made up of approximately 50% men and 50% women. That means, if we are all valued equally, statistics on victims of sexual harassment should be approximately 50% men and 50% women. As you can see, it’s not. Feminism teaches that females are just as valuable as males. Sexual harassment is the result of the lack of this teaching because it objectifies victims. Females are humans who deserve respect that males generally receive.

The Vagina

After interviewing Amy, the nurse, about her feminist identity, the vagina was brought into the spotlight. From our conversation, we shared similar experiences of recalling people not being able to identify that the vagina has two holes. Meanwhile, most people could draw the penis more accurately than the vagina, even as a joke. Interestingly, Vice reported a study where 44% of 1000 women were not able to distinguish the vagina on a medical illustration. They also reported about a smaller study where 80% of men and 62% of women of 236 American participants were not able to pinpoint where the vagina is.

Understanding the female body is important because it is vital for female pleasure. The Guardian acknowledges that it’s a taboo topic, evident by clitorides missing in female anatomy drawings introduced in sex ed classes and very few scientific research about it. It is unfair that the strive for female pleasure is less accepted compared to how acceptable is for males to seek it. Everyone deserves the right to the pursuit of pleasure.