The future role of women can be
looked at more optimistically. Nowadays, there seems to be a recognition
of the vital role women play in society and more status is given to women.
Overall, excellent progress has been made in education. This has played
a powerful role for women self-esteem. It demonstrates women's intellectual
abilities to gain expertise in the field of their choice. However, this
progress has still to be reflected in the job market. Since a more educated
society is good for industry and society as a whole, it is even more urgent
for women to gain an acceptable status in their rofession. The message
is that women have the ability to change their role and that they will
demand to have the means to do it. It is generally accepted by the new
generation of young men and women that co-operation and mutual aid are
far more productive than the divider camp of men and women. Society is
changing and with it the role of women and men. In many fields women have
come a long way from just their role as mothers and homemakers. They are
that and far more. They no longer think that children rearing and home
management is their sole duty.
The article from the The
Future Foundation 'Sexing
the Media' Monday 18th October 1999 new survey findings looks encouraging.
Women are gaining a greater influence over media choices in the programs
that are being transmitted, says the article. They have also more control
of what is being heard or seen at home.
From this site Press Release The
Times Educational Supplement has an interesting article on how the family
time is divided. Parent's and children's quality time has treble in
thirty years and two thirds of parents help each other with housework,
says the article. It is good to see that children nowadays are seen as
important members of society: products in the market industry cater for
children's need and well being and has now become a booming market. They
are well represented on TV and have their own share of viewing time. Most
are familiar with computers. Video and films have changed their market
to suit them. The girl child today is far more confident and aware of her
own place in society. There is hope for the future. It takes time to change
opinions and ready made values on women build over centuries, but we are
getting there
There are other interesting press
releases. The one of a particular interest is 'Women
in the UK - The shape of things to come' reinforces the points
made by this enquiry. In the Reports from the Future Foundation, Sue Tibballs
'The
Sexual Renaissance' has taken on an analysis of the 'gender debate
today'. It might be interesting for anyone with spare cash and interested
in the release. It is a pity that it is not freely available!
Of course a lot more is to be achieved
if we want a society free from injustice. When women will truly get equal
pay a major progress in women's life will have been achieved. This enquiry
has not focused on certain areas because the fields of the changing role
of women is so vast it would have demanded a greater field of research.
Yet this individual assessement cannot be concluded without mentioning
the anger felt by many women by the continuous violence and abuse on them.
Prostitution, pornography, men lack of respect for womanliness are familiar
themes which are exploited for profit by the media on a more or less everyday
basis. It is a dark area which need to be brightly lit and looked at uncompromisingly.
It is a fact that financial gain, or more often than not, financial needs
bring some women to enter into what the politically correct terminology
calls the 'entertainment industry'. The freedom of the individual woman
to decide for herself what to do with her live is paramount, the
exploitation of women sexuality for profit is not and will never be acceptable
to the majority of women. The argument will go on. Whilst there is a market
for it there always will be supply and demand. It begs the question: will
women ever be free from physical and mental abuse? The twenty-first century
women will have to address these issues. Who said that we get the society
we deserved?
