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Our sons can be sensitised to be mindful of gender equality and complement future women, only if we as parents practise and champion it at home.
The theme for International Women’s Day 2020 is #EachforEqual meaning, each one of us can do our bit to challenge stereotypes, stand up against bias and champion potential to create a world where everyone is equal regardless of their gender.
As we usher in a new decade, are you wondering what you as a parent can do, to embed gender equality in the current generation of children?
Here are three things to do differently to promote a gender equal world, for change begins at home starting with small actions.
It’s a well-known fact that women take on three times more caregiving including parenting and domestic work than men, which leaves them with a lot less time to spend on their careers or any other activity of their choice including taking care of their health. One way to address this is share the load responsibly, equally as well as acknowledge the value of household work.
Although most of us would like to believe chores have no gender, most of us are often guilty of assigning household chores by gender without thinking about it, especially with our children. How often have you seen daughters being the first ones to help with the cooking, setting the table, doing the laundry, and sons helping in the garden, fixing the bulbs or running errands to buy things?
Chores are basic survival skills everyone needs to learn, instead of being a way to draw out the gender lines. A good way is to have a roster for chores so everyone gets adept at tackling them.
How many times have you automatically reached to buy dolls for girls and cars for boys? Did it ever cross your mind that your son might want to play with a toy tea set because he enjoys watching you bake? Or that your girl would rather play with a model airplane because she loved meeting the pilot on your last flight?
You won’t know what your child is really interested in, if the option is not presented to them in the first place. It could make for a limited worldview re-enforcing the stereotype, and we are here to break them remember! So as long as it’s the choice your children make, and not one that is enforced upon them it is a great choice.
The same goes for experiences. Would you rather embrace an adventure activity with your son – for example play football and instead dance or plan a barbecue with your daughter? If instead, we engage girls in sports right from the beginning, specially those not traditionally seen as ladylike, it would boost her confidence to be on those teams. And in the strength of her body and not just for her “beauty”.
Thanks to the focus on women’s empowerment we now have loads of women role model for our girls to be inspired from in every field. The question to ask ourselves is, are we raising our sons to complement empowered women?
Across the world, hugely successful women are still seen by their children as the primary care givers. While we do expose our daughters to women achievers, supporting them through each opportunity in chasing their dream careers, are we doing enough to help our sons understand that the women in their lives have other passions outside of the family and how they can support them to achieve those dreams? Don’t you think role models for children are better placed being gender agonistic and based solely on championing their potential?
So, what will you do differently this #IWD2020 to support the theme #EachforEqual?
Image source: shutterstock
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Rajshri Deshpande, who played the fiery protagonist in Trial by Fire along with Abhay Deol speaks of her journey and her social work.
Rajshri Deshpande as the protagonist in ‘Trial by Fire’, the recent Netflix show has received raving reviews along with the show itself for its sensitive portrayal of the Uphaar Cinema Hall fire tragedy, 1997 and its aftermath.
The limited series is based on the book by the same name written by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who lost both their children in the tragedy. We got an opportunity to interview Rajshri Deshpande who played Neelam Krishnamoorthy, the woman who has been relentlessly crusading in the court for holding the owners responsible for the sheer negligence.
Rajshri Deshpande is more than an actor. She is also a social warrior, the rare celebrity from the film industry who has also gone back to her roots to give to poverty struck farming villages in her native Marathwada, with her NGO Nabhangan Foundation. Of course a chance to speak with her one on one was a must!
“What is a woman’s job, Ramesh? Taking care of parents-in-law, husband, children, home and things at work—all at the same time? She isn’t God or a superhuman."
The arrays of workstations were occupied by people peering into their computer screens. The clicks of keyboard keys were punctuated by the occasional footsteps moving around to brainstorm or collaborate with colleagues in their cubicles. Most employees went about their tasks without looking at the person seated on either side of their workstation. Meenakshi was one of them.
The thirty-one-year-old marketing manager in a leading eCommerce company in India sat straight in her seat, her eyes on the screen, her fingers punching furiously into the keys. She was in a flow and wanted to finish the report while the thoughts and words were coming effortlessly into her mind.
Natu-Natu. The mellifluous ringtone interrupted her thoughts. She frowned at her mobile phone with half a mind to keep it ringing until she noticed the caller’s name on the screen, making her pick up the phone immediately.
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