Welcome to the fourth 2015 column of “The Gender Corner,” published in collaboration with the Anguillian Newspaper. Through this publication we hope to offer material to create thought-provoking and stimulating community discussions. The goal is to break the silence about a range of issues so that we can start building a positive and productive society. This week we discuss the balancing of Gender Roles in light of fruitful discussions raised during recent public-service training sessions.
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The Gender Affairs Unit’s GEMS (Gender Equality Mainstreaming Sensitivity) training is underway for the entire public service. So far, close to 100 members of the public service have learned and laughed, pondered plans, policies and programmes, and shifted outdated ideologies of so-called “men’s and women’s roles.” Participants are building their capacity and understanding how gender mainstreaming is linked to professional, personal and national development. Hopefully there will be opportunities to provide similar workshops throughout the private sector, within our communities and also in our churches.
One of the questions that participants are contemplating, and a question that I urge you to consider as well is: Have we made significant enough achievements toward gender equality? When we look at opportunities for personal and professional advancement, are we ensuring that men, women, girls and boys can excel in their chosen fields of endeavour? Can both sexes enter into predominantly and historically male and female-dominated work fields? Are we actively changing the environment that created the ideas of “men’s work” and “women’s work?”
Some would argue that yes, changes in men’s and women’s influence in various work fields can be noted throughout Anguilla in the field of education, the health sector, in business and banking, and recently in the political arena. However, others will note that there are still challenges for women entering the fields of construction or being taken seriously as a computer engineer or systems technician. Men, too, find difficulties in entering the child care sector, the field of nursing and even within the educational system. Despite potential barriers, we are still witnessing a change occurring in shifting ideas around gender roles and responsibilities.
Gender Roles is the concept used to explore the various tasks that men and women perform in their daily lives. These tasks range from activities performed around the home, in the workforce, in the community and in social or faith-based organisations. This topic of Gender Roles was raised in the GEMS sessions as one that is not addressed enough. In light of our national climate focused on change, where is the discussion about how balancing gender roles can impact community and nation building as a whole?
Historically women have been in domestic positions. They were Queens of the home base while men were the breadwinners and Kings of the public domain. Men were out at work and interacting with the public while women were in charge of the private sphere – the home. In Anguilla and the Caribbean/African diaspora these practices rang true, but the experiences were slightly different. As men left the country to find work, women were in charge of both private and public spaces. In fact, women had to continue building communities and promote integrated national advancement while men sought opportunities for economic advancement and personal development on other islands or in the United States and the United Kingdom.
Fast forward to the year 2015; yes, this very day and age. We now see a mixture of women in the work world with some charting courses in traditionally male- dominated professions. We see men as responsible and loving fathers who are the Kings of the household – cooking, cleaning, washing and organising within the home. There may not be many but trust me, there is a fair share that deem these activities as their primary roles. These shifts in gender roles are only beneficial if we are maximizing the potential of families and households by increasing efficiency and being resourceful in the face of limited resources. With all that must be achieved in a day’s work, it is necessary that men and women break down outdated notions of men’s and women’s roles, and start working together to achieve private and public success.
As we continue the GEMS trainings, I am personally learning more about the roles that each of us play in our daily lives; in government departments and outside of paid work. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a nation to create equality. Here in Anguilla we cannot just create it but we must ensure that we focus on balance between men’s and women’s roles in order to make it prosperous. I always loved the saying, “Team-work makes the dream work.” The team includes people of both sexes and the dream must be achieved through equal effort and input, eliminating stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination, dispelling myths and overcoming stigma. Only then will we reap the benefits of shifting gender roles which are now being sown through efforts toward gender equality.
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If you would like to contribute to The Gender Corner, please feel free to email Dr. Ronya Foy Connor, Gender Development Coordinator, Ministry of Home Affairs, The Valley at Ronya.Foy-Connor@gov.ai or call at 497-2518. Let your voice be heard!
