Women have been the victim of many atrocities since time immemorial. The fight for gender equality did not exist a few centuries ago, and even though this movement is now roaring in most corners of the world, we are far from the desired reality. It is true that women have come a long way since the movement began, but unfortunately gender discrimination and malpractices still exist.
Today’s women have proved themselves in all fields including those dominated by men. However, even in today’s day and age, women rarely win without facing the many challenges of gender-based and other related social prejudices. Some of the obstacles women typically face in the male-dominated sphere of human endeavour are:
social bias on abilities: It goes without saying that society places some bias in the commonly perceived abilities of people of different sexes. Women have historically been seen as the “weaker sex”, as people in need of protection, in contrast to men who have traditionally been portrayed as protectors and protectors. While it cannot be denied that men and women are physically wired differently, which makes men physically stronger under normal circumstances, a serious problem arises when this The common event is taken as gospel truth. Even though an average man is physically stronger than an average woman, it doesn’t mean that all men are stronger than all women. It is reasonable to assume that every woman is physically weak or that all men are ‘strong’, for that matter.
Another problem arises when biology is used to assess women’s brain capacity. A long-standing belief has been that men are wired to be more logical, while women are more likely to be empathetic, which is limited by that understanding of women for a certain set of professions. is considered to justify being seen as ‘fit’. While this argument may sound smart to some on the surface, it makes no sense when it is used to prevent women from entering certain areas based on average estimates drawn from psychological observations.
family constraints: If society is pitted against women pursuing careers in male dominated fields, then, these women may have similar beliefs in their families, as they are also components of the same social system. Unfortunately, even though many women have the ability and ambition to rise to the top of the arena, which is usually dictated by a strict male presence, they are often denied their dreams by the patriarchal construction of society.
There are many implicit biases and even concerns about how “our daughters” will maintain themselves in a male-oriented arena, known to tarnish the judgment of families, some of which seek to stifle the wishes of female candidates. Let’s try. This phenomenon, in turn, reflects a feminine drought in many such areas, which only worsens the gender imbalance.
restricted access to fundsAs established, women have long been discriminated against on multiple fronts, and this discrimination does not end even after a woman enters and makes her mark in a male-dominated profession. It is not unheard of for women entrepreneurs to be deprived of basic support like easy access to funds and sponsorship. Many people, even today, have objections about women’s abilities in the field of finance. This bias exists because finance was traditionally a male-dominated field, given its ‘logical’ basis. This bias dates back centuries when the world was extremely lagging behind in scientific research into whether women’s abilities could actually be judged through criteria in popular use. Most of the studies were influenced by regrettable notions of patriarchy, and sadly, some of these continue to tarnish the prospects of aspiring women in male-dominated fields such as business.
Lack of networks and mentors: According to a research study: “People with experience are mentors and pay people like themselves, while people who are beginners tend to do what they see people like themselves do.” With fewer female business founders, the pool of women who can partner and mentor is smaller as a result of entrepreneurs. One of the major hurdles for startups is the lack of role models for women, who feel very lonely. This makes it difficult for enterprising women to learn from their peers and seek the help of those who have ‘maximized the value of business networks for women, as networking has traditionally been done in male-centric groups and organizations. Is.
In short, women around the world have been fighting against widespread gender discrimination for quite some time. Even after centuries of struggle marked by gains achieved in terms of empowerment, women are facing undeniable tax struggles in all spheres of life and work, especially those who have been long and irrationally opposed to men. protection is considered. The patriarchy that persists is not over yet and it affects the business world in ways that we cannot ignore.
Riya Nihal Singh Anand is the co-founder of FlexNest
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