Empowering Women Empowers Everyone

Here’s a totally uncontroversial PSA:

Empowering women doesn’t hurt men. Empowering women helps everyone.

There are those who see the empowerment of women as a completed badge in the course of human efforts. To them, the highest glass ceilings have been preemptively shattered, even if they haven’t been surpassed, because the success of women at the highest levels of life is “inevitable.” This thinking is mistaken for three reasons:

1. A woman in the White House, or at any other level of our government, is never guaranteed.  Only 21 of our 100 senators are women, and only four of the twenty-three top positions in Trump’s cabinet are filled by women. Yet more than half of the American population is not male, and an even bigger majority is not both male and white. Yes, a woman did run for president, but she lost to a man whose experience and competence is objectively much less than her own.
2. Women are still harassed and assaulted for the sole reason of being themselves. Our culture keeps assault private, victims quiet, and disrespectful comments loud. One in five women are sexually assaulted while in college, and many of the perpetrators are not punished.
3. We still blame victims. After all, people still ask: “what was she wearing?” But this question is only ever asked out of a belief that the abused are responsible for the abusers. This belief is wrong.

It is true that sexual violence is predominantly committed by men against women, but women are not the only targets. One in sixteen men will be sexually assaulted while in college. Fighting sexual assault benefits women, but, since men are also affected by sexual assault, men benefit from this progress too.

Furthermore, asphyxiating expectations about how girls should behave are inherently connected to the similarly asphyxiating expectations placed on boys.

The same culture that nudges girls to the kitchen pushes boys towards Legos and construction sets. The same culture that expects girls to cry demands that boys don’t. Since gender roles hurt everyone, the death of gender roles helps everyone.

When we hear cruel comments and unkind words, we have a responsibility to do more than nothing. As others have said, bystanders perpetuate the problem. Moving from silence to advocacy isn’t easy, but it’s a move that we ought to take.

Right now, America is being led by a man who has bragged about sexual assault. This makes it especially important for us to recognize and honor the women around us. Whether a woman is trans, disabled, young, or of color, she matters—she matters a lot.

Empowering women is in everyone’s interests, because everyone gains from the empowerment of women. I guess that means progress is generous. (What a surprise!)