What type of obstacles women have to overcome in today’s society?

Question

GIVE YOU OPIONINS ON WHAT YOU THINK AND ADD EXAMPLES

Answer 1

The biggest one in the professional world is the proverbial "glass ceiling" in both pay and position. It is like women can only go so far in a company, then they are stopped because all of the positions above them are headed by men and they promote each other first.

The second biggest challenge, being told we are inferior to men in every way when without us, they would not exist in the first place.

Answer 2

As a woman who stayed at home to raise my children and teach them at home, I was faced with so much prejudice about my 'position.' Another woman would approach me and ask where I worked, then I would explain that I stayed at home and there the conversation would end, uncomfortably. Now, being a woman who is more 'mature' and my children, having gone on to other things, trying to get back into the workplace is difficult-unless I'm asking if they want it super-sized. I even went back to college and earned a diploma as a Busines Computer Specialist. I did my part and raised three wonderful, socially-aware and caring citizens who will never go to jail or live off the government. It is really upsetting to me that it is so difficult when I am an intelligent person who would treat everyone fairly-especially when I know there's lots of good miles left on me.

Answer 3

I will address two obstacles:

One of the major obstacles for women in today's society is that of expectations, both from the woman herself, and those of her partner, to "do it all." Historically, it has been the men who were the protectors and wage-earners, and women who were the full-time mothers and homemakers. Families generally relied upon one income and simply made do with much less than is now considered to be acceptable. During World War II, women were encouraged to work in factories in order to make up for the deficit of men, who had gone off to war. Since that time, there has been a gradual shift towards more women in the workplace. Although more wives and mothers than ever are working outside the home, they still carry the majority of the burden of housework, organizing the home and family needs, and caring for the children. Yet, they are often expected, both by themselves and their husbands, to carry the added workload without compromising the quality and quantity of their responsibilities. It is a no-win situation in which the whole family suffers.

The other obstacle I see is that of the expectation to look "sexy" and/or beautiful. Since the introduction, in the media, of the sexual woman, who is usually both thin and beautiful, females have felt pressured to "look a certain way," in order to be acceptable to members of the opposite sex, and even to other females. The traditional traits of kindness, gentleness, compassion, honesty, charity, industry, thriftiness, etc., seem to lose importance as attention to one's looks come to the forefront.

Answer 4

The biggest obstacle women have to overcome today is the fact the feminists have created such a bad image for all women. All a woman has to do is express her opinion and she is immediately labeled a feminist. For example, if a woman works hard to succeed in her career, she is automatically stereotyped because the feminist movement has programmed us all to believe that they are the successful women, and non-feminists are failures. The same applies any time a decent woman tries to assert herself in any way. Society has been subjected to the whines and complaints of the feminist movement for so long that rather than eliminate stereotypes, they have created new ones, and any woman in a position of authority is now under constant scrutiny and suspicion by her peers.

Answer 5

I should think that a traditionally feminine woman has considerable difficulty cultivating herself since everything is geared to the feminist, career-oriented, "liberated" version of womanhood.

All of the advice she gets deals, for example, with the difficulties that women encounter in their "careers" of work outside the home, not homemaking and motherhood--work INSIDE AND AROUND THE HOME-- all of the material in magazines, books, and newspaper dealing with "women's issues" deal for example, with the experience of divorce and its aftermath, NOT how to prevent divorce in the first place, what might enhance the marital experience (and I don't only mean in the bedroom!!) making her husband feel that he is the most important person in her life, while she hold onto, and balances her other interests and priorities.

These are considerations that previous generations of women both poor and middle-class, grew up to understand and indeed received much with "their mother's milk". Women who grew up in the past three or four decades, however, are left totally in the dark if their temperament and mentality is more June Cleaver than Hillary Clinton, more Harriet Nelson than Bella Abzug, more Donna Reed than Betty Friedan.

There would have been nothing wrong with women seeking careers outside the home if they and their ilk didn't neglect and suppress the more important, desirable, and pleasing values of womanhood and femininity in our world.

A woman's place can be in the HOME---not the House or Senate!!

Let us offer praise to women who overcome these obstacles and reaffirm their femininity and womanly values!! They are the STRONG WOMEN who have a tough row to hoe.

Answer 6

Whoa, all the answers here are interesting and would make for insightful debate in a forum- I guess your question hit home, more power to you :)

I think people (not just men) have a problem with feeling comfortable about women who don't care to "nurture" as much as others do. Generally, I believe a man's anger is more socially acceptable (and connotes more authority) than a woman's.

Answer 7

Try listening to a few Natalie Merchant/10,000 Maniacs songs, or reading the lyrics. Many of these songs would be suitable, I think. The song "These Are the Days" by Merchant's 10,000 Maniacs is used at high school graduations all over the country, but the singer herself is actually in her 40s. Good Luck!

Answer 8

The hardest part for me sometimes is to accept the fact that I'm just a woman.
i can make mistakes and I can hurt people alot. I can regret some things and I can get confuse so easily.
I'm not a super-human who could do anything in this world, (Neither are men) I'm binded by other people, by home and my life. But that doesnt mean I cant try to do anything.
It just means I gotta try harder.

Answer 9

The idea that in order to have any self-esteem whatsoever you have to be a combative feminist defined "strong woman", when really this sort of thing is an indication of overcompensation in the face of a very low self esteem and not strong at all, sounds like an obstacle.

Answer 10

One of the biggest obstacles women have to overcome is passing on lies like the pay gap, the glass ceiling, inflated domestic violence and rape statistics, and all the other lies they use to demonize men. Once they're done creating problems, they can begin to solve REAL ones.