G. Michael Reid on Women’s Week
Tonight our commentator on the Last Word looks at Women’s Week and the progress women have made over the years. However, G. Michael Reid is of the opinion that any strides women have made in the workplace have come at the expense of their families. His suggestion: have children or a career, but not both.
“This week is being observed as Women’s Week and an entire week of activities, which began on Sunday March the 7th, culminates tomorrow Saturday 13th with an all day fair at the Belize Technical College. The fair is being organized by the Women’s Issues Network and encompasses a full day of entertainment and educational workshops. The Women’s Issues Network, or WIN, is an organization which seems focused on bringing together all the different women’s organizations into one body and has an office on the third floor of the Commercial Center. There is of course, no shortage of women’s groups and with more springing up each day, this organization should have no problem finding members. One wonders of course, even if just for survival, that it might not be now necessary for men to start forming a few organizations of their own. But then again, that is what is considered chauvinism, isn’t it?
To their credit of course, and in no small way due to their ability to organize into groups, women have come a long way from the days when they were confined to just motherhood and housekeeping. Today, women are found in just about every available profession and in many cases, make as much or more money than men. Laws abound that protect them from discrimination and abuse and it would seem that if equality has not yet been achieved, it cannot be too far away. Feminism, however, continues to forge onward and new groups are being formed on almost a daily basis.
Feminism in the Western Hemisphere got its start near the end of the American Civil War when women threw their support behind and at the same time, coat-tailed on the campaigns of antislavery groups. At first, the primary goal of many feminists was suffrage but with that having been achieved, the focus shifted to total gender equality. Major strides were realized until the middle of the 1900s when the end of World War II dealt the feminist movement a crucial setback. The boys returned from war, the baby boom occurred and maternal instincts overruled the desire to be independent. Working mothers were looked down upon, even by other women and the era of the career woman was over, almost before it had even gotten started.
The end of the 1960s, and the coming of age of most baby boomers saw an increasing number of women graduating from college and education coupled with the availability of birth control pills triggered a revival of feminism. The birthrate showed a drastic decline and large numbers of even married women began entering the work place. Consumerism fueled the desire for a second income and with no children to care for, women were free to venture into the job market.
Equally important in sparking the feminist resurgence of the sixties, was the black freedom movement which was spearheaded by the likes of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. An interesting note is to realize how the movement to free blacks and the movement to free women have gone hand in hand each time. In recent times, it seems that homosexuality has also hopped on the freedom bandwagon. The second surge of feminism, which began in the sixties, is what has led us to where we are today, with the genders being as close to equality as we have been since leaving the Garden of Eden.
With the advent of television in Belize, it was inevitable that our women would eventually catch up with the trend and today, their cry for equality is as loud as it is anywhere in the world. We have paid a high price for this push toward parity, however, for while women have attained prestige and fulfillment outside the home, inside the home, the void has been deleterious. Mothers who used to once anchor the home and provide caring, counseling and consolation for their children, have now placed these responsibilities squarely on the shoulders of baby-sitters, who in many instances have their own families to attend to. As the children grow, school teachers are expected to fill the void and provide miraculous remedies for the situation. In some cases, there are happy endings and the children are able to grow up normal and lead productive lives. In an ever-increasing number of cases, however, the consequences are devastating.
A major topic on the agenda for tomorrow’s women’s fair, will be a course on how to use the family court. Maybe a better topic would be a course on how to use the pill, or how to make a choice between having a family or having a career; they cannot have both. I believe that it is time for women to realize that while they do have a right to a choice, they have the obligation to make one. There is no substitute for a mother’s care and to have children and then leave them on the mercy of the world is unfair. While they can learn how to pressure men into paying money or going to jail, all the money in the world will never take the place of what children need most of all: a mother’s care. No baby-sitter, no teacher, not even a grandmother will ever be a proper substitute. The absence of mothers from the home has played a major role in the decline of family values and in the absence of discipline in children.
Yes, fathers also need to play their part, but many times the fathers that need to be tracked down, are the ones who didn’t want the children in the first place. The choice has been given to the woman. See you at the fair.
With the Last Word, G. Michael Reid.”
The opinions expressed on the Last Word are those of G. Michael Reid and not necessarily those of Channel Five. Comments are welcome.
