It’s a far cry from Mad Men for women in the workplace today.
The era of women being relegated to the background, staying in the home, and being limited to subservient roles is over.
March 8 marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, which first began in 1911 and was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19. More than 1 million women and men attended rallies that year campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office — it was a call to end discrimination.
Society has come a long way since 1911.
Women lead countries and corporations. They fly airplanes in combat operations and lead on the sport fields and academia. We have more women than ever before holding top political positions.
From U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, Australia’s first female Prime Minister Julia Gillard, and Brazil’s first female president Dilma Rouseff, women are rising in the ranks of the political sphere worldwide.
Even in Alberta women can be found in top positions in the province’s political parties.
In fact, it may not be out of the question the two frontrunners in the next provincial election will be women.
Calgary MLA Alison Redford is running to replace Premier Ed Stelmach at the helm of the Progressive Conservative Party. Danielle Smith is leader of the Wildrose Alliance which is currently pushing the Tories in the polls.
In addition, Sue Huff is interim leader of the Alberta Party, and Edmonton-centre MLA Laurie Blakeman has put her name forward to replace David Swann as leader of the Liberal Party.
But, is the day of the glass ceiling for women truly over?
Gender discrimination is still very much alive in the corporate world, although it’s not as blatant as it may have been in the past.
A recent review by the 2010 Catalyst Census looked at women who were senior officers in 500 Canadian companies. The study found women’s advancement into top executive positions has been slow over the past couple of years. Researchers reported 17.7 per cent of senior officers at the companies were women, up only slightly from 16.9 per cent in 2008. The findings also show 142 of the 500 companies, or 30 per cent, had no women as senior officers at all.
A second 2010 study, released in the Journal of Social Psychology, found attractive women were discriminated against when applying for jobs considered “masculine” and for which appearance was not seen as important to the job. The positions included job titles like manager of research and development, director of finance, mechanical engineer and construction supervisor.
But for some women, the pendulum is swinging back.
As a result of unique pressures to be perfect at everything, such as juggling a successful career with family life, many young women of this generation are willing to leave top positions in the workplace to become stay-at-home mothers.
Many of these women were expected to follow in the footsteps of the feminists who broke down the barriers before them, yet they are choosing to walk right back into the home.
U.S. Census Bureau statistics show a 15 per cent increase in the number of stay-at-home moms over the past 10 years.
Although this may be disappointing to some, at least women now have the choice.
As Okotoks resident and Order of Canada recipient Irene Pfeiffer attests women in Canada have it easy compared to some other countries.
There’s still a long way to go for women’s rights to be recognized in many corners of the world.
For example, women are not allowed to drive cars in Saudi Arabia and violence against women is an epidemic in many war-torn African countries.
Progress, however slowly, is being made.
While the Mad Men era may be over — an era where alluring women were hired as secretaries solely for their physical attractiveness — echoes can still be found of the way women are portrayed in society.
One of the most damning culprits is the media where some of today’s great achievers take a back seat to Lindsay Lohan and Kim Kardashian.
In society today there are numerous exemplary role models like Pfeiffer who young women should be aspiring to emulate.
But do they get enough attention?
Unfortunately not, as the likes of Paris Hilton and Snooki seem to dominate the media spotlight these days.
Women have made incredible inroads in politics, business and society and they should be celebrated.
Young women should be looking to the positive role models who can inspire them to push to new heights if they are going to continue to break down the gender barrier.
