Source: http://blog.richardlevinassociates.com
Women have various roles and opportunities in different cultures, living in America we think that all women should strive towards equality, but we need to remember that the role of women is embedded in the customs and culture and will slowly shift as the world changes as a whole. A woman’s role in society in the United States and the Phillipines are somewhat similar, however, the Phillipines are just a few steps behind America. In the article “Women are Owning More and More Small Businesses” by Gillian White, she claims that women are moving up to earn equality in the corporate world, which is dominated by males. In comparison, the article “Women in Southeast Asia” by Barbara Watson Andaya she explains the roles of women from World War 2 to present day. One can see the pattern that Southeast Asia is slowly following behind the United States and the role of women in society.
The role of women in the corporate world is a trending topic in the past few years, between the number of female CEOs and women getting paid 77 cents to a man’s dollar. In White’s article she shows that women are moving up in the corporate world, with small businesses. Owning a small business is known as a success in the work world, you get to set your own hours, engaged in projects that are interesting to you, but there are also many challenges to overcome. It is very hard to succeed with a small business, most run into debt and aren’t able to grow larger. “Such jobs are largely enjoyed by men, who make up an estimated 71 percent of business owners in the U.S” however it seems to be changing, there has been a 68% increased in women-owned firms and a 47% for all businesses. Women are stepping up in the world and are still trying to become equal in all the male dominant fields.All throughout history, it shows how women are inferior to men but I think that is slowly changing today. White states “That makes it even more critical that women break into fields that have long been populated almost entirely by men… ‘The highest amount of growth in the number of women-owned businesses were actually very male dominated industries” this proves that women are able to be just as successful as men, yet there are still people who look down at women in the work world.
In the Philippines, women are not as successful with equality as the United States, but they are still making progress. The pattern of women in a male dominated field still exists half way around the world, “When women do manage to enter the political arena, they often find themselves marginalized in a male-dominated culture, with real power remaining in men’s hands.” says Andaya. Women are finally able to be a part of their society, yet they are still pushed below men. The author also states “Philippines has female representation in national government risen above 10 percent.”, this may not seem like a big difference but in the Asian culture where it is a patriarchal society, it is progress. The role of women is set in the culture and religion. Andaya claims that “Gender stereotypes that favor males over females are often reinforced in school textbooks and are sometimes encouraged by religious teachings. For example, Buddhists still believe that rebirth as a woman rather than a man indicates that less merit was accrued in past lives”.
Future Research: For my next blog post, I will compare the role of women with their family and the jobs the culture brings on them.
The comparison between the United States and the Philippines was a very strong example showing how woman are treated differently in other countries. Maybe, go into depth on some specific jobs/businesses that these woman are taking apart of that used to be mainly owned by men.
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