‘Johnny come lately’ on gender equality

In a week that saw Rwanda clinch a non permanent seat on the UN Security Council and Mali make its way into the US presidential debate on foreign policy; two relatively more mundane stories caught my attention.On Thursday, members of the European parliament rejected the nomination of Yves Mersch, a Luxembourg banker to the European Central Bank’s executive board. Now you may wonder why this particular incident should stand out after all people are rejected for one job or another.The story gets interesting once you find out that poor Mr. Mersch was rejected on the grounds of being man! Perhaps a bit of context is only fair. The European Central Bank Executive Board has six seats and five of them are already occupied by men. This is in addition to all male governing and general councils!It seems that when it comes to financial matters Europeans only trust their men to handle the money!Closer to home, an English female cricketer named Holly Colvin, on a visit to Nairobi, asserted that “Kenyan women’s cricket can only improve if they are allowed to play alongside men in club cricket”Miss Colvin was speaking from experience. She honed her skills playing with and against men at Sussex county Cricket Club in the UK.Speaking to a reporter from The Star newspaper, Holly Colvin is quoted as saying, “It’s very difficult to improve if you are not playing someone stronger than you. The players will have to play alongside men either in the same team or against them. If this happens, then Kenya should expect to do well in their matches.”The two stories, while both addressing the issue of providing opportunity for women in the workplace, present contrasting approaches.The case of the ECB executive board alludes to the notion that there is something fundamentally wrong with having an all male leadership in a world that has a 101:100 male to female ratio. The Kenya women cricket story, on the contrary, seems to suggest that if women are to be taken seriously, they need to ‘man’ up.This divide in opinion has been at the heart of the gender balance debate in recent years.The journey to gender equality around the world is gaining momentum and is universally recognised as a fundamental pre-requisite for achieving wholesome development. It all started out innocently at dinner parties of well to do women in the UK and US frustrated by the limitations imposed on them by society. These women wanted to play a significant role in the economy and politics.Thus was bone the suffrage movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Women openly declared their desire to vote in all elections and quickly mobilised the support of foresighted men like John Stuart Mill.At first these women were dismissed as irrational and hysterical. That was until Emmiline Pankhurst founded the “Women’s Social and Political Union” in 1903 in the UK.By this time though the antipodeans had already seen the light; New Zealand was first in 1893 to give women above the age of twenty one the right to vote. The Australians not wanting to be outdone by their cousins went all the way in 1894. On top of allowing them the vote, women in Australia were also allowed to stand in elections.The road to bumper harvests is always riddled with the frustrations of delayed gratification. Such was the case for the women in the US and UK. While they were at the forefront of the suffrage movements, their gains were slow in coming.It was not until the 1920 presidential election that women in the US got their full voting rights. In the UK, it would take a further eight years for “the Representation of the people Act” of 1928 for women to vote on equal terms as men.The struggle for equality continues today albeit with different aspirations. Women today want equal pay for equal work done. The proverbial glass ceiling is being hacked apart incessantly by a new breed of young women who want it all. They want the top jobs with commensurate pay and a beautiful family to go home to.Feminism is so 1980s! Gone are the business suits with shoulder pads and conservative hairstyles, please welcome the ultra feminine look ala Michele Obama and Kate Middleton. Even in sports, the beauty Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams’ designer outfits attract sponsors’ dollars as much as their tennis talent.In seeking equality, therefore, women are better served playing to their strengths rather than trying to be the equal of men. Every individual is unique and it’s for a reason. If we were all the same, the world would be a dull place.As our dear sisters continue battling to re-align the socio-economic and political structures that have sidelined them for so long, let them focus on showing the men that the world is better off by accommodating their views. After all they are different and it is said that “variety is the spice of life”.It’s not just a case of representation, it is about adding value.Rwanda today is reaping the fruits of systematically encouraging women to play an active role in our development through participating in all spheres of the economy.It is self evident that our women are the glue that holds the new Rwanda together.James Brown captured this reality most aptly. The ‘Godfather of soul’ in his 1966 album title song “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World”, profoundly declares... “This is a man’s world But it would be nothing, nothingNot one little thing without a woman or a girl!”

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‘Johnny come lately’ on gender equality