CFNN Reporter ALexis Fowler

I’ve wanted to be a photographer since the 8th grade, and for the last 4 years I’ve been working toward that goal. Recently I’ve realized despite all of my effort, it might not be enough. Even though I consider myself a hard worker, the odds are stacked against me. 75% of photography students are females, but only 15% of them are able to turn photography into a career. 

Why is it that fewer females become photographers? If I were to ask some people that question, they would simply state that females don’t work as hard. I’ve been told before that, because females normally take care of children, they are not as dependable which results in them earning less. 

In 2020, women earned 84 cents for every dollar a man earned. This means that women would need to work an extra 42 days a year to earn the same amount. According to research from the U.S census bureau, women were struggling to work because they were unable to find suitable childcare. COVID limited options for childcare ,and 1 out of 5 adults say this was a significant issue for them. 

The inequality in jobs is honestly sickening. It’s so incredibly unfair to have people paid unequal amounts based on gender. People should be paid based on their personal skills and what they achieve. 

Even with the constant spectre of gender inequality in jobs in the United States, other countries have it even worse. 

In Yemen, fewer than half of all women can read, as opposed to over 80% of men. Also there are no women in the Yemeni Parliament. To add to this, Yemen has no minimum legal age for marriage, which leads to child marriages. A child marriage increases the risk of abuse and can jeopardize a girl’s health. 52% of Yemen girls are married before they even turn 18. 

In India, 68% of women have to deal with domestic violence. With traditional values in place, having daughters is discouraged. 300 to 600 thousand pregnancies are terminated every year because parents don’t want to have a girl. 

Violence and abuse is a huge issue in Peru. 61% of women have reported being victims of physical abuse. In Afghanistan, women are thrown in jail for trying to escape abusive partners. 

Why is it that in a world that is so advanced we refuse to move forward? No country will ever reach their full potential if we don’t allow everyone to succeed.  Growth isn’t possible if we place limits on parts of our population. 

With females all over the world proving that they are more than capable every day, no one should even consider the notion that women are not good enough to succeed in any endeavor. If we are going to keep circling back to archaic ideals, what was any of our progress for?