The changing roles of women from the ancient times to the 19th century to now has always largely been influenced by either how society perceives the ideal woman to be, or stereotypes that people impose on the image of a woman. The different roles that women play in the different areas of society, mainly politics, economy and at home have been changing as a result of the change of social portrayal of women.
In the field of politics, women have constantly been taking more political roles. This is the same for both Western and Asian countries and can actually be attributed to changing perceptions. In the past, men were seen as more logical and had the traits needed for decision making such as taking risks, but this stereotype has been gradually eroded away through increasing women’s involvement in politics. In the west, countries such as America have shown that women may have a positive bias working for them. The success of the feminist movements and women such as Hillary Clinton has allowed the people to rethink women’s ability to handle politics, and can explain this “glass elevator”. In the East, although the number of seats in politics for women is few and far between, there has been an improvement in the number of women in politics. For example, in Singapore which is part of South East Asia, we have Tin Pei Ling. A young, passionate member of the PAP, she had been the talk of the town when she was revealed to be part of the MP for the Marine Parade GRC. Although she has faced much criticism for her supposed naivety and materialism, she has been contributing in parliament and is currently the Chairperson of the Ulu Pandan Youth Executive Committee for the Young PAP. Furthermore, her young age has proven that not only women who have experience can dabble in politics, but also those with the passion and willingness to make a change. These examples, I believe, do represent the changing role of women in politics.
Economic-wise, women have also been filling up more job positions. In America, for example, women constituted merely 5 percent of total doctors in the United States in 1890, but this figure rose to 17 percent in the 1980s. This does not represent a shift in biasness towards women, but rather represents that employers are more accepting of women in the workforce now, which would mean that women are being treated more equally as compared to men. Likewise, similar education opportunities have allowed women to take up more professional occupations such as lawyers and judges. One example would be the Judge Judy show, which clearly shows the success a woman can have in the professional career scene. Another example closer to heart would be the difference between my grandmother and my mum. In the past, my grandmother had to stay at home all the time to take care of the children, and she only took jobs when the family desperately needed cash. On the other hand, my mum is able to work part-time for an extra family income as me and my sister are able to take care of ourselves at home. In the past, this would have been nearly impossible as a woman needing to work for extra income would seem as a disgrace for men. Hence, we can see that the changing perceptions of society have resulted in women being able to take up jobs easier.
At home, women are also gaining a louder voice in decision making. In ancient times, patriarchal societies caused women to be treated as mere objects of the husband and basically do not play a role in the family except for carrying on the family line. However, due to changes economically and politically, women are now perceived to be more capable and some are even considered head of their families now as they are the main decision-maker. In the show 企鹅爸爸 that was broadcasted a few years back, many ideas of women having to be housewives were abolished and the idea that men can also be excellent stay-at-home dads has been highlighted by the show. The social stigma that once decided whether the mother or father would stay at home has been gradually eroded, and this decision is more or less decided by who can take better care of the kids, as well as who can earn a higher income. Perceptions that women must stay at home are removed essentially, and the man even claimed that he happily prefers to stay at home to take care of his children.
In conclusion, the roles of women are changing from traditional viewpoints of a stay-at-home mum, and they now have more opportunities in all spheres as less gender discrimination is around.
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References: http://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2011/01/women_american_politics
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ReplyDeleteHi Chin Ann,
ReplyDeleteIt was a good post as you elaborated on the political, economic and social aspects of the changing roles of women from past to present.
I would like to add on your point on the increase in the number of women in the workforce. You have given statistics from 1890-1980 but the statistics are not really up to date. I believe that to make your point even stronger, you could add in statistics from the past few years. You might consider adding in the statistics that the number of women increased from 5% in 1890 to 32.2% in 2008. (http://www.pay-equity.org/PDFs/ProfWomen.pdf)
Also, I feel that if you have added in your views on whether the discrimination of women can be changed, it would serve to back up your different points. On this note, I would like to post you some questions. Do you think that discrimination in women in the society can be totally wiped out? If so, what do you think the government or society should do in order to reduce discrimination?
Cheers,
Si Jian