Women in Fayette need to step up to the plate, run for public office
Total equality between men and women is still an unattained goal. Although many people believe women are of equal status, the truth is women still fall short in many aspects of everyday life. As a resident of Fayette County and a female scholar, I want to see the role of women in Fayette County rise above what it is today. Our mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers and generations of women before them worked hard to give today’s women something that was uncommon to previous generations, a life of equality. Women of the past set down stepping stones for us to follow by raising children, working multiple jobs and doing whatever it took to make ends meet. In order to walk down the path that they hoped to see us walk, there are a few things that we must see happen.
One main aim Fayette County needs to have is to see more leadership from women. Encouraging women to vote is no longer enough. To fairly represent our area, our government must reflect its citizens. Women in Fayette County make up more than half the population, and to properly represent the women of our county we need to keep electing women into office. In order to elect more women, we must first have women running for office. If we encourage our young, opinionated females to always push for what they believe in, the female candidates will come to the surface.
We need to raise young girls to be strong, insightful leaders. To do this we should encourage young girls to speak their minds and act on issues they feel strongly about without limiting them to the sweet and innocent stereotype that young girls are supposed to follow.
Let us try to instill a competitive edge in our young women instead of only encouraging them to be accommodating to everyone. If a young girl in your community tells you she wants to be a nurse, try asking her why she does not want to be a doctor. Ask more of her than she asks from herself. Being a nurse is a privilege but not the only option for women, like it once was. Too often young girls are setting modest goals without being pushed to achieve their best.
As a community trying to reach common goals, we should be working together on issues that affect everyone. As mothers, fathers, neighbors, teachers, and friends we should help encourage the women in our community, young and old, to take more dynamic roles in leadership. The leadership I am referring to can be defined as a role in government or as a role in professional life.
Looking at the numbers, women in Fayette County are far behind men in many different areas. A woman working full time makes almost 31 cents less to every dollar a man working full time makes.
Almost 20 percent of the women in Fayette County are living below the official poverty line. To be a woman should mean that you are intuitive and inspirational, not limited by the standards of your community.
As a woman and future professional, I wonder why there is such a gap when women make up 45 percent of the labor force and supposedly have all the opportunities the men of Fayette County have. A problem that might explain the wage gap could be the lack of women who continue their education. Only 3,823 females out of 77,594 have a four-year degree. In a world that is changing quickly, a degree is essential to getting a well paying job.
So how can Fayette County as a group help improve the status of women? They can start encouraging and supporting female candidates, empowering and guiding females to step up into leadership positions, as well as finding and promoting ways to ensure more females are continuing their education.
If more women get elected into roles in government, issues such as breast cancer research funding, education, child care, and prenatal care may get more attention since some personal experience may be brought into account. A census in 2005 revealed that 20 percent of pregnant mothers in Fayette County received no prenatal care in the first trimester. If more women are elected to represent the county, they may hone in on issues that directly effect women, the gender that makes up 52 percent of the Fayette county population. As part of that 52 percent, I would like to show my contribution by continuing my education and supporting other women who choose to take a role as leader instead of expressing jealousy to other female leaders.
Today is National Young Women’s Day of Action and what better way to celebrate the day but by uplifting the females in our lives and encouraging them to take some kind of action, big or small? On this day, I plan to hold an open forum to brainstorm ways to improve the quality of life for women. What will the women in your life do?
Miranda White of Point Marion is a student at Carlow University and a participant in NEW Leadership Pennsylvania 2006.