The contributions women have made to history, technology and the pursuit of human progression is an invaluable resource humankind cannot deny. As new generations emerge, the increased demand for the acknowledgement of women's achievements has forced a change in the status quo, created a demand for change within school systems and curriculums, a demand for change within corporate America; and all around the world, as people begin to acknowledge that women are just as capable of inventing, achieving, and succeeding as much as men, young girls are blossoming and growing roots in industries previously thought to be only for men.
Change has to start by taking advantage of resources that the current age we live in finds obsolete. Social media and highly publicized television events are a core part of that. Watching these sources give you an idea of women's empowerment and how it has increased significantly in just the past five years. However, although we adults hear about these changes, see the news and watch the speeches about women's rights and equal pay at the Academy Awards, that doesn't help our children understand the importance of this concept. The empowerment of women must start with the empowerment of young girls.
As I was visiting YouTube, I came across a commercial by Microsoft that carries so much weight it was unbelievable to me that I hadn't realized in my entire existence that this was happening. In the commercial, young girls were interviewed and asked what they enjoy doing and what industries they'd be interested in. All of them included forms of technology, studies within engineering and inventive studies. When they were asked to name a few inventors, the girls got about to answer in before I realized where this commercial was headed - they only knew about male inventors. None of them could think of a female inventor. Each of their answers were the same; in school, they were only taught about male inventors. Then it dawned on me that this was absolutely true, I too was only taught about male inventors.
Personally, I believe that the friction with empowering women starts because the acknowledgment of minority achievements usually demands a day, month, or a specific period of time for concentrated learning. With each new demand, a new month or new holiday must be set aside for it, causing most individuals, who are comfortable with the way things are, to cringe. This is usually seen within Black History Month.
While rightfully created to give young African-Americans and young people of all ethnicities a larger picture of the contributions African-Americans have made to the United States, because previously, there was no education noting these, in 2016 it’s starting to be seen as another form of segregation. After all, black history is American history. Women's history is also American history. In a perfect world, I’d like to see everyone petition for curriculums to be changed to include a full educational composite of women's history, African American history and all American history to be taught throughout the year consistently evenly and equally - no months, days or weeks dedicated to such learning, just a full year of all inclusive learning.
The contributions women have made to technology, anthropology and world studies is something that should be more widely available to young girls. However things are changing, there are more programs actively recruiting young girls for technological courses at top universities like MIT. Mainstream channels like Discovery, and Discovery Science are also putting more emphasis on the inclusion of women in technology studies. Women have come a long way, first fighting for their rights to just exist as a normal human beings without the need for a husband to give them purpose, to fighting for the right to vote and have their opinions heard, and fighting for the right to have an equal position alongside a man and not just be destined for secretarial work, and now in 2016, fighting for the right to equal pay.
Each of these have been a stepping stones towards a final goal of equality for women. Just as Black History Month should also be viewed as a stepping stone for the final goal of equality for all minorities including African-Americans, but the inclusion of studies of African American achievements should go beyond Black History Month and be included in a year-round curriculum as well as women's studies. I would hate to see for all of these milestones to grow stagnant by segregation and reservation into months, days and week that make the studies see more like electives than actual score and necessary studies.
In honor of international women's day, CJL.com supports the need for change and equality for women and minorities around the world. We honor women who have made contributions to history and technology and the women who continue to break barriers and promote the idea of women's rights. We also honor those brave women who live in countries that are oppressive to women, yet they still fight for their right to be heard and their right to exist freely amongst men. Finally, we promote equality for all, white, black, male female, undecided and universal. We are all human, we hope that in our realm of publishing, we can use the universal glue of knowledge and reading to promote this idea, and we thank our readers for their continued support as we work to support authors, publishers, agents and civil rights.
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