How are Diabetes and Sexism Related?
Dictionary.com come defines sexism as:
Attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles
Discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex, as in restricted job opportunities; especially, such discrimination directed against women. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sexism)
There is a theory, that sexism has subsided in the United States, I doubt that is true, and without direct evidence I contend that sexism is just as powerful and pervasive in our society as ever, however it is probably more underground and not practiced as much in the light of day.
Sexism is not free or benign. It is a costly and damaging practice. Simply put, sexism is costly because it limits our society’s ideas and productive actions. When we quash or discourage the ideas, thoughts or actions of males or females we lose the chance to discover the best about society.
So why do we limit the exchange of ideas? It is because we are scared of the outcome of new pursuits. This is not a new idea. None other than Thomas Jefferson argued that we must develop a society that tolerates and encourages differences of opinion. What Thomas Jefferson knew and what I believe is that when we limit ideas, we limit our possibilities. When we limit our possibilities based on gender, we do a disservice to our combined futures.
This week a woman achieved what was previously thought impossible, Mary Barra was appointed (effective in January 2014) Chief Executive Officer of General Motors. Despite programs to find, appoint and retain females GM has remained one of the most bureaucratic organizations in the world. Even as GM has appointed women to middle management it has made a practice of restricting the upward mobility of its female employees. When that happens organizations become stagnate, spending time on maintenance of tradition instead of looking ahead for the ideas to expand the future.
Catalyst magazine tells us that currently in fact women occupy the CEO position of 45 of the world’s top 1,000 companies (http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-ceos-fortune-1000). That is a measly small number. Especially, when, according to the World Bank, about 51% of the US population is female (http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS) . It is an unacceptable situation. Yet the number of female CEO’s has barely changed over the last many years. Yes sexism is alive and well in the US and the world.
So why does it persist? Well one reason is that we do not fairly accommodate child bearing females in the work place. Second females tend to self-select non-management roles (usually based on community imposed stereotypes). Third organizations tend to promote those who look like the current power structure. And finally men are not apt to accept child rearing responsibilities. In short we self-limit our potential as a society.
What does gender equality have to do with diabetes? Let’s face it any society that will not accommodate the aspirations of women will never accommodate the aspirations of diabetics. The very same limitations place don women will also be placed on those who are considered “chronically ill”. Until barriers for women are removed, we can never fully expect equality for diabetics. The struggle of diabetics for acceptance parallels the struggle of women for equality. In many ways only if women are afforded full equality can we expect that diabetics will be afforded the same access to economic equality.
Attached is a wonderful one minute commercial about the how we as a society view women in roles of power. It is a chilling video. I suspect when you watch it you will find a bit of your own prejudice revealed in it. I am unhappy to say I found some of mine. But just because we have prejudice does not mean we have to act on it. Our struggle is to overcome our built in prejudices. I hope someday we will overcome our own self-imposed limitations and see sexism for what it is, a limit placed by us on us. Let’s remember it is limit we can shatter when we admit our own thinking and honestly work to overcome it. Gender, like diabetes, is no reason to self-limit our potential.
-30-
Rick