Why Women Are Not Equal With Men
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Gender Inequality
Women are not equal with men. The last forty years have been spent trying to convince the human race that women are equal to men. This is not true. At least in education.
Mothers are the first educators of children. This is true in America and even more true in other countries around the world. In China, there are strong cultural beliefs that the mother must remain at home for at least a month after giving birth. Even in America, and especially after the family medical leave act was passed, mothers are the ones that stay at home with the infant. Hundreds of millions of mothers all over the world still live in a society where mothers stay at home while the fathers farm or work outside the home.
Most teachers are women. I am the professional development coordinator in a school district of 14,000 students and 1,300 teachers. By far, the majority of the teachers are women. I lived and taught in China for eight years. There too, the vast majority of the teachers are women.
Children have a special close connection with their mothers that can't be matched with the relationship they have with their fathers. It's often said that if women ruled the world, there would be no wars because, as mothers, they couldn't bring themselves to send their sons to war. A world ruled by men seems to have no problem doing so. And now they send their daughters, too.
So, as the first educators of children and the ones that have that special connection with the offspring of this world, women are indeed not equal with men. They are superior.
In China, and in many other countries, America included, when the family can only afford to send one child to school or university, and they must choose between the son or daughter, it's the son that goes. From a systems point of view, where the effects are often separated from causes by months and sometimes years and decades in time, sendind the boy to school instead of the girl makes no sense. An uneducated and unsophisticaed mother can't help but to pass on the same to her children. If we are serious about educating our children, we should make sure our mothers are educated first, and fathers second if there must be a choice.
Sociologists know that with each year of education added on to a woman's life, the likelyhood of her having less children rather than more increases. Education of women is now a favored method of population control in many developing countries. China is often criticized for their One Child Policy. To be fair, the policy is only a short term solution and has resulted in some unwelcome practices that likely were not anticipated before its implementation. However, to China's credit, and this is never mentioned in western news when the One Child Policy is criticized, they are more than halfway through a 40+ year campaign aimed at 100% compulsary education. They have already nearly achieved 97% 9th grade compulsary education. There are more Chinese k-12 students in public schools than there are American citizens. Half of them are girls; girls likely to have less children than more, and of their own free will and choice, based on sociological statistics because they have received an education. China plans to have 12th grade compulsary education by 2020. That means China will have higher high school graduation rates than America has.
Of course, fathers have a significant influence on their children. An educated father will no doubt have a more positive influence on his children than an uneducated one. However, it appears that mothers, and women (as school teachers) in general exert a greater influence on our children than fathers and men do. Therefore, women, from an educational point of view, are more important than men. In whatever country in the world, if finances or other restraints force parents to choose between sending their son or daughter to school, whether it be elementary, secondary or postsecondary, the daughter should be the one to go. In this regard, women are not equal with men. They are superior.
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Comments
Chantel,
This belief of mine first originated from a religious teaching. That's right! My religion says that women should be educated before men, should there have to be a choice. But I didn't really appreciate it until I lived in China for 8 years. and saw how the influence of a mother on her child varied based on her level of education and overall sophistication. Having chosen education as my career, I see even more clearly how important the education of women is. I thought it was worth a hub.
P.S. stay at home with a U degree
I think there is an argument in here somewhere for single sex schools. Girls are far outperforming boys in schools. Many of the girls I teach are jawdroppingly competent, focused, productive, cooperative, etc etc. I would bet on them any day to be successful in whatever they do.
When my grandmother graduated from college in 1909, she couldn't vote because whe was a woman--I thought of her as I read your hub. She was a great proponent of education for women and had to fight for her own as you might imagine. She always said that if you educate a man you educate one person but if you educate a woman you educate a whole family--she would have liked this hub. So do I--thanks for writing it.
Barranca- the single sex schools idea is interesting. I'm not convinced at the moment, howvever, that they are any better than coed. I have to read more about it.
Robie2- I love your grandmother's saying "if you educate a man you educate one person but if you educate a woman you educate a whole family"
That's great and really summarizes the essence of this hub. Thank you for sharing that.
hmmmmm maybe I'll write a hub on my grandmother--she was a wonderful person and quite a role model---hub hub hub:-)
vrecc
Interesting insights. Traditionally, I have always considered it a must for my son to receive a college education so that he will be able to remain competitive in the ever increasing "dog eat dog" business world. It is his income that will be the support of his family unit one day, ideally that is. My daughter on the other hand is attending a vocational school by her own choice, still becoming educated but in a specific field. As far as rearing children, her education in more subjects than can be offered in a "school" atmosphere is a desire of my heart. Having been raised by an educator, a mother who was an elementary school teacher for over 30 years, I am pro-education, but not everything a mother needs to learn can be learned in school. Trust me on that one! As far as your concept of education as a means of birth control especially in third world countries, or places where the women is traditionally limited in her education, it is something worth pondering. I am not in favor of limiting a persons right to bear children, but education concerning the matter certainly could help. After all when it comes to birth control, HOPE simply isn't one of the best methods now is it?
HOPE is not effective at all. You are right. The relationship between education and birth rate is purely statistical. There is nothing to ponder. Sociologist discovered in the 60s and 70s that women in African and Asian nations that were receiving elementary and secondary education were not having as many children as those that didn't receive an education. There are many explanations for this but the real reason isn't known for sure. Some say that these educated women go out and get jobs and therefore have less women. Others say they develop a level of sophistication and the light goes on and they see they don't need so many children. But... ya know... I just don't know.
What I do know is that in China, if a women is in school then marriage is out of the question. If a girl does not go on to high school from middle school, then it is likely she will soon marry and have children. However, if she goes on to HS and then college, the child bearing keeps getting delayed. Most Chinese don't marry until they are out of school.
This is changing a little, but it is still generally the pattern.
Jonathan
gotta chime in here again and say that education is power for both genders. Uneducated men get less respect and have fewer options than educated men--the same is true for women. Why should it matter less for a woman than a man?.....just thought I'd mention it:-)
Robie2,
can't argue with you there.
Super duper, yeah women! No really, great hub for sure.
I agree, Sandra.
Yeah women!!!!!!!
Great hub....and thought provoking. I still do not approve of the one child policy...every life is precious and there are much nicer ways to accomplish population control. But, with that said....I do agree and admire your views. Debi
Thanks for visiting Deb. The one child policy is a tough one. There are studies out there that predict what china's population would be without the policy. It's pretty scary and challenges beliefs. On the face of it, I don't like being told how many children I can have. But, a society that can't feed upwards of 2 billion people is scary as well.
Of course, I don't think the real solution lies in family planning laws or education. I think it goes much deeper than that and is strongly connected to the concept of the oneness of humanity.
Thanks for coming by.
Jonathan
This hub has such an interesting point of view. I just began advising a feminist student group at the college I work at, and we have been talking a lot about equality. We have also been discussing what it means to be a feminist. What we keep coming back to is that we want to to promote equality between genders, not just fight for women's rights. As well, we have tossed around the idea that we aren't all equal or the same, but we all deserve equal rights and opportunities.
My two cents on the one child policy: it is a tough one. I also dislike the idea of someone restricting how many children I can have. On the other hand, it isn't like they make it impossible to have more than one child, but you do lose out on a lot of benefits if you do have more than one child. If a government is being overtaxed with supporting its citizens, I guess these kinds of measures are necessary. Still...I'm torn over what I think about. I guess I'm just happy I live in the U.S. where I can plan on having more than one child.
I could ramble on, but I'll stop here.
Stacie,
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your comments. You are doing good work at your college. We are lucky to live in the usa. We really don't know how good we have it.
Cheers friend!!!
Jonathan
Yip, as much as I hate our government, I would rather be here than anywhere else. At least right now that is. It could change. I am sorta leaning toward Clinton now. But.....I am not sure yet......cause I would hate to have her be president and then get beat up but a womanizer in another country or something.
Hey Sandra, thanks for stopping by again. I am happy to be here, but I still miss China. There are lot of things that I can't do when I'm there. For example, in China, if hubpages isn't blocked, then I bet it's super slow.
Not sure who I'm going to vote for for yet.
This is great analysis.I don't know how I missed this one.Thanks for supporting women.But the sad part is still prevalent in some parts of India.Dowry system makes people look down upon women and not given enough education.Female infanticde in rural areas is on the rise.
Great work.
Great title - great catch - you know every woman that found this would read it. I like what you're doing!
Laurie B.
Abhinaya- I know of the dowry and femail infanticide. It was happening in China, too, though I think it has become less prevelant. Why don't you do a hub for us on this situation in India? Thanks for stopping by.
Wildwind- I was sneaky with that title now wasn't ;-). Thanks for coming by. Cheers!!
Hi Vreccc,
Very interesting Hub. I thought you are going to say that men are superior to women which I would of course disagree.lol. I personally don't think any gender is superior. You're comparing apples to oranges here.
Both can't exist without the other. They exist to complement each other. Men have qualities not found in women. Women have qualities not found in men. It will be a boring world for both to have the same talents. Both parents are needed in the family.
At an early stage, the mother is more important for the child but the father is more important to the family. He is the one who provides for them. What happens when the father leaves the mother and child. Trouble! As the child grows up, the father has some good influence on a child. There will be difficulties in children that grows up without a father. I have two kids myself and I can't imagine them having no father. Men should have education. Women have more respect to a husband who is educated, smart. They can't properly feed their family without education. This world will turn upside down if men should stay home and wear skirts while all the women work. Of course, there are some exceptions here. Just my 2 cents.
Mschanl ,
Thanks for stoppin by and leaving a thoughtful comment. Youa re right, education is important for both men and women. I was pointing out what should happen if finances or other circumstances cause a family to choose between sending the girl ro boy to school. I think the girl should go in these cases.
I expected content like this when I read the title. I appreciate your international experiences and knowledge included in this hub :)
Very VERY great content, I love a man who is a feminist!
Glassvisage and Lady Luck,
Thank you both for stopping by. The title is a little catchy and gets people to read. I believe this concept wholeheartedly.
Jonathan
Ok....can I just like hug you! Your title is very catchy and controversial I must admit when I saw the title I put on my boxing gloves ready to dish, but what a hub! I love it. The pictures of the little indian girls and the african girl spoke to my heart, I guess being African and having most of my best frieds growing up being Indian!
I'd love a hug from you, Patkagmak!
I was about to label you as another MCP and glad that you proved me wrong. Btw I am from India and in south esp kerala women have a very high literacy rate. I really understand India has a long way to go but still countries in South Asia have had women at the top most echelons of power unlike US which never had even a VP who was woman. Real equality is when more women are not just at key board but at board of directors.
You cant really say this because you live do not live in a 34d world country where many of the woman are not allowed to go to school and get an education beyond grade 8. But nevertheless nice hub. - time 2 write my crudy essay hope me luck
sorry about grammer and etc. my brother hit enter. Oh and woman that do have an education surpass men by far. It shows that they really appreciate the education they are getting unlike some men, sadly to say :P Peace out - the potster
Potlover,
I lived in Ecuador for 6 months and I speak Spanish. I also live in China for 8 years and I speak Chinese. This article was written from experience I have seen with my own eyes. I have a PhD in education leadership and I have seen and studied the effects of education on the condition of women.
"It's often said that if women ruled the world, there would be no wars because, as mothers, they couldn't bring themselves to send their sons to war."
It's not true, though - Margaret Thatcher started the Falklands War, for example, and Boudicea started a war against the Romans, to name just two.
Hi vreccc! I followed LondonGirl here, the title of the hub was very appealing, and boy, the content was way better! I also read the comments with interest and this one I found charming: "if you educate a man you educate one person but if you educate a woman you educate a whole family". Thought provoking, insighful all around, thanks!
I agree, it's a great hub.
Great hub! Great guy! Thumbs up!
You're maybe right, but always pointing differences on man and woman does make the everlasting debate on who's greater that who unstoppable. We'll never be truly equal (is that really what we want?) if everyone tries to find advantages/disadvantages in sexes!
Not going into detail or compare the strengths of men to the strengths of women makes this article one dimensional, and exceptionally groundless. You also didn't bother to step outside of China: if women are only "superior" in one area of the world, it is likely due to other causes, as opposed to being influenced through natural selection.
I honestly am not seeing your "punch line". You haven't said exactly why or how women are superior to men. If women are superior because they are emotionally closer to their children, then men can also be superior by their physical dominance. Without comparative explaination, your argument is nonexistent: you are tunnel-visioned arguing: childlike.
This is coming from a male who doesn't care about the supposed inequalities between men and women.
"The vast majority of teachers are women," so what? The vast majority of women are also jobless when compared to men. Sorry if I am missing your point, (I know there isn't one). Some of my comments may seem emotionally-charged - they are not, but I am rather blunt sometimes.
Also, the use of religion to support your argument weakens your card, as it only gives you unproven excuse to, seemingly or groundlessly, toss up ideals and label them as "fact", when they are so only to others of your own religion, or of another religion withholding similar beliefs.
This is what you are doing in your article:
"George Bush is a bad president, because he talks funny."
"My dog is superior than myself, because he fetches ball better than me."
"Women are better than men, because in China women teach more."
-George Bush may talk funny, but are the ideals spoken not relevant to the issues at hand? Does George Bush not bring up ideas that may lead us to a solution towards alleviation of this stressful economy? What does "talk funny" even mean?
-My dog fetches better than me, but I bet if I decide to not feed my dog, I'll eventually have the strength to overcome my dog in that aspect as well.
You have no defense. I don't see how people can agree with you based on this alone. Again this comes from someone who doesn't have any personal connection towards any of this: I am completely unbiased, and am only trying to tell you why your argument is not up to par. I stumbled upon this while trying to find a quote or two to support an argument in my paper about the false inequalities of women for my "Women in Literature" college course.
-There's more women teachers in China, but I bet the richest person in the world is a male.
I really enjoyed your hub. Women are truly a significant force . I always liked the quote from that movie, Howard's End, when Vanessa Redgrave makes her speech about the mothers of the world being able to bring peace. A beautiful thought, and a fitting homage to the mothers and teachers who keep the peoples of the world civilized.
Well, I think there is one fundemental flaw in this argument.
It only holds true in a country where it is the woman who does most of the upbringing.
It is becoming more and more common the west, in western Europe at least, that the men take time of work and spend just as much time with the new born as the woman do. And the same goes for spending time with the child as it grows up. This is what equality should be aiming for. Forget the fact that woman spend more of their time raising children than men do, as far as I'm concerned, this is a problem to equality. Education should be allowed on the merit of ability, regardless of the gender. Men and Woman should play an EQUAL part in raising children (ie, not motherly orintated). This way, both the mother and father can continue with their careers with each others support, and this system of women being at home and the men being the sole providers can be broken (which incidently is the reasoning to why woman should be educated and not the man).
This also causes a problem. If, in the case you cite, that Men go out working and the woman stays at home, what use is it having an uneducated male provider trying to compete in the competitive economy?
Again, the real solution is to brake this "woman stays at home, and man goes out to work" mould, and both take roles in the upbringing. Many new laws allow this, with males also allowed to take time off. This would allow, as I have said, education to be handed out on the bases of ability and brings real equality.
Further on the comment if women were in power we'd have less wars. I doubt this very much. Again, our perceptions of Women being far less aggressive, and men being aggressive, is perhaps more to do with this "mould" in society of where the man has to go out to work and compete in the economy in comparison to the woman who stays at home than it has to do with genetics. Woman can be very aggressive in industry, and anyone who underestimates this does so at their peril and their chances of promotion. It is perhaps because of the many woman staying at home rather than experiening this pressure in the workplace that results in many becoming less agressive and competitive. An example that counteracts your argument would be Magrate Thatcher. She sent UK forces to war twice, and it is well documented how she single handedly, how can we put it, convince (or bully) the King of Jordan into supporting the 1st gulf war. She also didn't mince her words with Presisdent Regan (I think) as she very much made up his mind for him when he became hesistant with the same Gulf War. The German Chancellor Markell also has Germany in a state of war. And there are many more examples in history (many English and other European Queens as such) where Woman have time and time again that they are just as aggresive as men.
I believe that woman and men are a lot more equal to what people relise. It is now more a of social problem where woman need to find the confidence to become equal, and not just for the systems to make it happen. And ideal example would be my mother. She could do anything she wanted, but instead refuses to work full time as she doesn't want to and doesn't care to much for progresing her career.
One final point. Girls do better at school because the mature quicker, and in time for the serious education of high school. I think it would be a good idea to hold boys back one or two years, or bring girls forward one year in school. Boys need to have the chance to settle before doing higher education. This is nothing they can help, it is simply the case that females do develope and go through puberty 2 to 3 years before boys. It is not a case of one sex being more able than the other (well, on the whole), it is a case of them having the oppertunety to. Girls do better at school, but boys do better at IQ tests.
Again, far more equal than what headline press suggests.
Thats my, rather large, 2p!
chantelg4 says:
2 years ago
Very interesting coming from a man, I was surprised when I read your article as the title made me wonder what was inside. Yes, I agree, women do have a special bond with children, not to say that men don't, but I think women are just naturally more nurturing and men are more providers and solution seekers. (nothing wrong with that!) I am a stay at home mom and my partner is the work horse, and he would not want it any other way.