After my column on racism last week, I thought of another topic that many individuals may not know the importance of. Truthfully, it’s a current topic that is trending which makes it annoying for some- but that’s simply because of its importance.
Gender equality is just as it sounds. Many people believe that it’s simply women trying to gain more power or control over men. However, as stated in the term, gender ‘equality’ is the fair and equal access to opportunities, resources, safety and decision making among both men and women.

There are happenings every day (including songs and movies) that tell us that this is a man’s world. But how can a society grow when half the population is being left behind?
Yes, gender equality is strongly tied to women’s rights as it has been shown that women not only receive fewer opportunities than men, but they also get paid less regardless of being in the same position. This is society telling women that they are worth less than their counterparts- even though without women, there would be no counterparts- but that’s a whole different story.

UNICEF says gender equality “means that women and men, and girls and boys, enjoy the same rights, resources, opportunities and protections. It does not require that girls and boys, or women and men, be the same, or that they be treated exactly alike”. This is because women are much more at risk for domestic and sexual violence, sex trafficking and many other oppression tactics. Ignoring gender equality means ignoring these facts about half of the population. In Guyana, women are more likely to be unemployed, poor and illiterate. They have less access to opportunity, property ownership, training and employment. They are more likely to be domestically, financially and sexually abused which results in a four times higher rate of suicide attempt than their male counterparts.
Gender also differs in rates of mental health issues. For example, men suffer more from substance use and abuse while women suffer more from anxiety and depression. Women are also more likely to suffer from comorbid, meaning more than one illness at a time, than men. Women are more likely to suffer from Post –Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as civilians because of the abuse they are more likely to and do face. UNICEF says that at least one in five women suffer rape or attempted rape in their lifetime.

There are gender-specific risk factors that make one more likely to develop a mental illness such as domestic violence against women, sexual violence, unequal opportunity, the responsibility of others, socioeconomic disadvantage and therefore income inequality and low or subordinate social status.

I read somewhere that guilt is a key component to the female experience due to all the duties they face. They are expected to be professional wives, mothers, caregivers, breadwinners and the backbone of every family. Their needs and wants also usually come last in the family. This demanding and sometimes impossible role makes women feel shamed into thinking they are not enough or ill-equipped to handle what they are supposed to be doing, what all other women ‘do’.
Men, on the other hand, have been brought up to be tough- to stifle any emotion they may have. This has also caused issues because depression and other mental illness in men come out as aggression rather than sadness and isolation- typical for women. This creates the whole abusive cycle all over again.

The issue is these ‘gender norms’ have been ingrained in us for generations and I don’t see it changing any time soon- unless everyone steps up from today because one thing is for sure- man or woman- we are struggling.

So what are the benefits of gender equality? Let’s see, how can we benefit from using an extra 50 percent of the world’s knowledge, talent or experience? Hmmm….
Gender equality is important to economic development as it provides equal opportunity for education and employment. This is crucial, especially for a developing country like Guyana. The United Nations (UN) reported that in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, half of the economic growth over the past 50 years is attributed to girls having better access to education.

The Clinton Global Initiative reported that when women make money, 90 percent of their earnings are put back into their family, while men reinvest only 35 percent. This means when women make money, their children are more likely to be educated and healthy, with benefits. Yet, most women are still paid less for the same job as their male counterpart is doing.

The UN says there are many ways in which gender equality can help a country. Countries with gender equality have more peace, less mental health issues and intimate partner violence.

Studies show that when more women work, economies grow. According to the McKinsey Global Institute report, if women were to play an identical role in labour markets to that of men, as much as $28 trillion, or 26 percent, could be added to global annual GDP by 2025. Yet, according to UNESCO, over 2.7 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men. And women’s labour force participation rate is 48.5 percent compared to a rate of 75 percent for men. Addressing these barriers is an essential component of ending poverty as well as mental health issues.

In Mexico, a Gender Equity Model or “GEM 2003” was developed and tested by 57 firms (companies) with around 250,000 employees. The model that was developed proved to be a successful tool for promoting gender equity in the private sector. The following were the results that GEM 2003 identified in a survey administered to firms. The firms reported there was
* improved labour environment within 31 percent of the firms
* better communication between management and workers in 23 percent of the firms
* an increased number of women in managerial positions in 9 percent of the firms
* increased productivity in 8 percent of the firms
* reduction in salary gap in 8 percent of the firms
* reduction in maternity-related discrimination in 8percent of the firms
The change of both men and women enjoying the same basic human rights is easily achievable with the support of an entire society. The facts states above suggest that gender equality is not simply a women’s issue. It is relevant and beneficial to people of ALL genders and therefore, it’s in everyone’s interest to support it.

Thanking you for reading. Please keep sending any topics you’d like to talk about to caitlinvieira@gmail.com

Suicide Helpline numbers: 223-0001, 223-0009, 623-4444 or 600-7896
Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs! Always!