The History Of Gender Equality

What if I told you that you run like a girl, talk like a girl and even think like a girl? Good afternoon 8c and Ms. Cosman. Today I will be speaking about gender equality and its progress throughout the years. These include the occurences from the past, events that are happening right now, and finally, predictions for the future.

In the past women have had very little rights. This did not stop them from fighting for what they believe in. August 18th 1920. This was one of the most important days in US history. After nearly 80 years of protesting for women's rights, American women were finally given the right to vote. Additionally, in the year 1870, 30% of colleges included men and women and there were very little colleges that included only

On January 20th, millions of men and women all around the world protested for women's rights. People walked the streets of major cities such as Toronto, New york, and Tel Aviv holding signs such as “I'm with her”. There were also signs referencing the Me Too campaign, a movement created by a woman named Tarana Burke. Tarana started the campaign as a way for less privileged women who have been assaulted to communicate with each other and support them. This became extremely popular and later the Golden Globes decided that they will join the Me Too movement and told all the guests and performers to wear black to support this campaign. Even though we have come a long way with gender equality, the gap between men and women has not been abolished yet. A survey was conducted by the PEW research center. They asked families “Who does most of the work in the house?” 54% said that the mother does most of the work while only 7% said the father did! This proves to us that the stereotype of the woman running the household still plays a big part in our lives. We have gone such a long way to close gender gaps and hopefully they will be fulfilled in the

Predictions have been made that in 170 years, men and women will truly be equal. This process can be changed to be a lot shorter if we educate more about the cause. A reporter named James Walleman wrote in an article about gender equality in the future. He states, "In the future we're going to break today's norms, we'll create norms that are much better. We'll be living 50/50 lives, we'll be sharing the responsibility.” In addition, many of us believe that children are our future and have the power to change the world. Today there are many child activists that will continue to change lives in the future. Let's take Malala Yousafzai as an example. When Malala was just 11 her father took her to speak at a local press club about women's rights for education. Nearly 6 years later, Malala received a Nobel Peace Prize. Malala was only 11 when she started fighting for her rights. Little did she know, she was getting one of the most important awards in the world. If we encourage these rights, the children of our future could finally live in a world where little girls are seen as equal to little boys, and everyone can have the opportunity to succeed.

Beyoncé once said, “Women are more than 50% of the population and more than 50% of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100% of the opportunities.” Gender equality has evolved rapidly in the past, present and will continue in the future. So never be afraid