While growing up, I would hear from many people that certain higher level jobs were not meant for women. I would hear such pronouncements even from those I thought were educated and mature enough to see that high responsibility did not depend on gender. Thank God I had a father who considered the fact that women should work just as hard as men and women should be equal partners in society. Throughout history, women have traditionally been regarded as inferior to man in both power and status. In all societies the obvious biological difference between women and men is used as justification for forcing them into different social roles which limit and shape their attitudes and behavior.
Women are the primary caregivers of children and elders in every country of the world. International studies demonstrate that when the economy and political organization of a society change, women take the lead in helping the family adjust to new realities and challenges. Families around the world look, feel, and live differently today. Families can be “make or break” for women and girls when it comes to achieving their rights. They can be places of love, care, and fulfillment but, too often, they are also spaces where women’s and girls’ rights are violated, their voices are stifled, and where gender inequality prevails.
Women’s formal and informal labor can transform a community from a relatively autonomous society to a participant in the national economy.
