When a man cries, it is seen as him being sensitive. When a woman cries, it is seen as her losing control of her emotions. It is the 21st century and women cannot act like human beings and still be taken seriously. Despite all the protests, all the campaigns, all the progress women have made in the past century, all of it would have been for naught if they cannot be taken seriously in the country today. Of course, compared to some other countries where women have essentially no rights at all, the US has made astonishing progress, but there still stands major roadblocks on the way to equality. The gender gap in the US is still very prominent, women are constantly being discriminated, ...view middle of the document...
Only when women have the same treatment, the same opportunity, the same care as men do, will they finally have enough confidence to accept their roles in society and be taken seriously.
Many people say that female prosperity has reached a new high, that women are treated equally and have no trouble being considered a valid source. Sadly, however, in reality women as a whole are largely disregarded, and discriminated against. One of the best examples of this is shown in a court of law. Out of the only 40% of rapes reported to police each year, only 10% lead to an arrest, only 8% get prosecuted, only 4% lead to a felony conviction, and only 3% of rapists get sentenced jail time. 97% of rapists walk free. (RAINN. "RAINN Statistics.") Why does this happen? Because of the invalidation of the victim: “She was drunk.” “She was asking for it.” “She’s just being dramatic.” “She’s only pretending.” “Boys will be boys.” (No More.) Boys should be held accountable for their actions, but unfortunately because women are not taken seriously enough in today’s society, their claims about these awful things are not taken seriously enough either, and most are dismissed and disregarded. These travesties will not end, until people understand that women are just as validated as men to speak in a court, that a woman’s word is just as trustworthy as any mans.
In addition to being paid less, and being disregarded as a person, everywhere young women are being discouraged from taking the lead. From being outnumbered in media heroes, to being called on less in class, to being called bossy when put in charge. (Lean In.) Women are not seen as leaders in today’s society, and continue to be discouraged to do so. Girls are twice as likely as boys to worry that leadership roles will make them look bossy. (Lean In.) This means that girls start to hold back from taking the lead at an early age, and the trend continues into adulthood. Women only hold 18.5 % of congress seats, (CAWP.) and 63% of female college students say that they never considered holding a political office. (Lawless, Jennifer L., and Richard L. Fox.) The US needs more female leaders, and until people start taking them as seriously as male leaders, we will not get that. If women cannot be seen as proper leaders than they will never be taken seriously. People need to stop discouraging leadership roles, and start encouraging all children to take the lead and develop proper leadership roles.
For women to be taken seriously, people need to accept their viability, treat them as equals, in every way, and allow them to lead without fear. Everyone can listen to the truth, everyone can encourage equality, and everyone can accept a leader. The only thing that stands in the way from ending the discrimination is whether society is ready to accept women as people or not.
Annotated Bibliography
CAWP. "Women in Elective Offices 2014." CAWP Fact Sheet. Center for American Women in Politics, Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2014. ...
