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Is Progress Enough?

International Day of the Girl was celebrated on Oct. 11. Perhaps you saw an article or two come across the news or your social media feed. This global day of observation was introduced by the United Nations in 2012 out of an effort to raise awareness of gender inequality faced by females based purely upon their sex. The inequality faced by half of our global population comes in many forms including access to education, protection from discrimination, sexual exploitation and violence against women.

Since 1922 when women in the United States were first granted the legal right to vote, the United States has been elevated onto the international stage as supposed trailblazers for women’s rights. To this day, women across the globe are watching. They’re waiting to see what comes next. Our young daughters are watching. Our students are watching. Our employees are watching. What are they seeing? Let’s take a closer look.

Collectively, there are perhaps thousands of various groups across our nation that have been formed to provide a network of support, awareness and advocacy for women’s issues. Businesses have created diversity groups aimed at providing mentorship for their female employees. Communities tout women’s professional networking groups that gather regularly to enjoy guest speakers and engage in dialogue about issues unique to the career and social advancement of women. School districts offer sports programs and character building events for their female students. University’s offer special programming and advocacy clubs intended to advance women in our society through education. In corporate America, when there are women who hold a seat at an executive level role, it is referenced as a fact to be celebrated when trying to stand out in comparison to the competition.

Perhaps each of these examples are to be celebrated as progress towards the end goal of women being viewed and treated as equals to our male counterparts. Yet, I ask you this question; is progress enough? It’s time that we take an honest look in the mirror. Like the stereotypical over achieving family who successfully puts on a happy public face in an effort to hide the domestic ugliness occurring behind closed doors, our society needs to get real.

The progress we celebrate masks the normalized levels of violence and inequality that are still happening at alarming rates in our society. It is unacceptable. Portrayals of violent acts against women in films and television programming that serve as a form of family entertainment normalize violence. Music lyrics, Hollywood comedic performances and workplace breakroom humor too often make a mockery of female objectification. It opens the door to seeing females as less human and easier to hurt which perpetuates violence. It’s easier to hurt those we see as less valuable than us. According to a 2016 Gallop pole, women in the United States are still paid 83 cents for every dollar that a man with comparable qualifications is paid to perform equivalent duties. A recent study conducted by the American Educational Research Association suggests that 81 percent of female middle and high school students have experienced some form of sexual harassment throughout their educational experience. Comparatively speaking, women are significantly underrepresented in corporate senior leadership roles, boardrooms and government positions.

Until every person commits to being the change we want to see, the inequality and violence will continue. Instead, we will continue to celebrate small milestones of progress as opposed to a victory over gender inequality and violence through genuine respect for women. In reality, we are still in a world where females are being beaten, raped, mocked, silenced and overlooked as invisible. Progress is not the same thing as respect and this is not a women’s issue. It is a human issue.

We need to raise our sons and daughters to understand that equality, respect and dignity is a basic human right and not a privilege. Never should any person need to worry about being respected and valued, being paid the same, or left to fear for their personal safety. We must call upon every man to speak against inequality and violence too.

Each of us has the potential to replace the invisible girl or woman with an equally respected fellow human being who is heard and honored. Small gestures of doing the right thing will not change our sad reality. It is what we do routinely, not rarely that defines our character.

Open your eyes and see. Do the right thing every time and not just when it suits you. Only then will we achieve true victory as a nation when the rest of the world is watching.

Elizabeth P. Cipolla SPHR, SHRM-SCP is a leadership communications professional specializing in the areas of leadership training, creative recruitment strategies, employment branding, professional development and executive coaching for over 15 years. Her leadership experience comes from various industries including marketing, mass media, apparel, education, manufacturing, aerospace, nonprofit agencies and insurance. To contact Elizabeth, email her at elizabeth@catapultsuccess.com.

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