Author:

SONU

• Opinions
• 08-03-2022

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong; it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.”- G.D. Anderson

Every year we celebrate women’s day on March 8 and this day women across the globe are recognized for their achievements, contributions, and leadership roles. The theme of this year is “gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. The idea behind the theme is that women are increasingly being recognized as being more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men because women make up the majority of the world's poor and are more reliant on the natural resources that climate change threatens. Women and girls are also effective and influential leaders and change-makers when it comes to climate adaptation and mitigation.

But this should not be confined only to a particular day.  In this new changing technological era women are as capable as men and should be given an equal opportunity.  A self-employed woman would help in contributing to her family finances, at the same time would also contribute to the GDP of the country.   But still in many parts of the world women are not given proper education, nutrition, and employment.  This would hinder the overall growth of a country.

Women are inborn leaders as they are capable of handling both home and work and they are good at coordinating things.  An economically independent woman feels more confident and is capable of making future decisions.  One such inevitable example is Malala Yousafzai. She is a female education activist and is the youngest Pakistani to win a Nobel Peace Prize.  One of her famous quotes include:

 “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced”.

There are other prominent examples of women who have excelled in their respective fields and are providing motivation to the future generation. Another such example is Jennifer A who has got Nobel prize for Chemistry for her wonderful work in CRISPR/Case 9 genetic scissors which is a method to edit DNA. CRISPR has exciting implications for clinical use particularly for cancer therapeutics.

The role played by women in the time of the COVID 19 pandemic is remarkable.  Almost seventy percent of women who worked in health care and related sectors had a hectic schedule at this time.  They had to manage such a rush in hospitals and had to make sure that the whole of their family members is safe and at the same time to do the household chores. Despite this during the lockdown, the violence towards women also increased remarkably.

Despite the appropriate knowledge, skills, and degrees women are facing a lot of discrimination not only at their homes but also in their workplace. According to data given by UNESCO 2021, Women make up only 33% of researchers, 22% of Artificial Intelligence specialists, and 12% of seats in national academies of sciences. Women make up only 28% of engineering graduates and 40% of computer science graduates, despite a skills deficit in most of the technology professions driving the digital 4.0 revolution.  Women's research careers are typically shorter and lower-paid than men's. Their work is rarely published in prestigious publications, and they are frequently passed over for promotions.

Breaking gender stereotypes, addressing gender inequalities in access to scientific studies and careers, recognizing and strengthening women's full and equal participation in research and innovation, and promoting their leadership within scientific communities are more important than ever to meet the challenges we face today: health challenges, climate change, and the open and secure sharing of information to raise public awareness. So, this should be given prime importance as it would be beneficial to society as a whole.