Human Trafficking Is Trend

Brooke Holt Discover New York Tuner December 5, 2018 Everywhere you go there are double standards and there are “traditional” ways of doing things. According to “The Guardian”, women are better off today, but still far from being equal to men. I couldn’t agree more with this statement. Women have come such a long way, but there are still physical qualities men carry and will never truly make us equal. I feel women will never reach equality because they pay more for common household items than men do, are the minority in the executive positions, and lastly, women are far more likely to be the victims of human trafficking. All of these factors have to be accounted for when determining women quality. It’s no secret that women have more physical hygiene responsibilities than men. Staying on top of our personal care can get pretty costly at times. Body odors and smells are always looked at differently when it is coming from women rather than men. “The office found that average retail prices were “significantly higher for women’s products than for men’s” in five out of ten categories of personal-care products, including underarm deodorants, body deodorants, shaving cream, designer perfume, and mass-market body sprays”(New York Post). Simple things such as body deodorants and reasons why they will never fully be equal, at least not in this lifetime. Staying clean is not something that should be talked about with women equality but it is.

The fact that prices are raised and tampered with simply because women are expected to buy more is not just. Our society has separated gender to the extreme that there are far too many details to correct overnight. “Activists and lawmakers have long railed against a so-called “pink tax,” which they argue forces women to pay more than men do for almost identical products”(New York Post). It is not fair to have the same jobs, the same products, and drive the same cars as men and suffer financially because of gender. In my opinion, if men were to be placed in a woman’s body for a day, they could not survive the many obstacles women encounter each day. People do not get to choose whether they are a boy or girl when born, therefore gender should not be a determining factor on how much someone pays for a car, house, or any household item. Does this seem like equality to you? In my opinion sanitary products should be free. It is a natural thing for women to have menstrual cycles and it is unfair they are paying for it for the rest of our life. That alone differentiates us from men on an everyday basis. “According to Forbes magazine, less than 3 percent of Fortune 500 companies in the United States have female chief executives”(The Daily MBA). Having only 3% being women is evidence of how today’s society chooses to operate in corporate America. “After women won the right to vote in 1920, feminism waned in the mid-20th century, overshadowed by concerns over the need to reintegrate returning veterans into the national economy after World War II”(Women And Work). Women and work talk about feminism and how women’s rights have improved over the decades. Although things are getting better for women, that doesn’t mean equality is completely given to them. Equality in corporate te America stands for power and structure. Business is what makes this world operate, having female voices with that much influence changes everything for everyone. “The theory of devaluation explains lower wages in female-dominated occupations as a consequence of a cultural devaluation of women’s work which affects wages in female-dominated occupations and in occupations where the tasks are associated with female characteristics”(Magnusson). When it comes to experience and skill-based jobs, gender should not be a factor in the hiring process. It should not make a difference if a woman can change oil the same way a man does. This same concept should apply to all careers.

Women are discriminated for their gender every day. “The promise of equality is not the same as true equality. A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and men ran half our homes”(Women and Work). Women have not reached full equality within corporate America, and I feel as if the household equality is domino affecting the overall aspect of equal rights for women. Lots of men grew up in the household taught to have powerful positions and to take care of their family financially and physically, but as of 2018 women can do that too. “In the US, for the first time, in 2011, women made up slightly more than half the workforce”(The Guardian). This is important because if you are properly using the word equality that would mean you are splitting everything in the middle and making it literally equal. Some women don’t support being equal. They still want a man to pay for everything, open their door, and cater to them in every way. “A Gallup survey of women executive asked them what they felt was the most difficult obstacle to success in their business careers. Less than 4 percent listed family responsibilities. Approximately 50 percent stated men having issues with their gender. Men would challenge their authority, career advancement would be faster for men and some male executive refused to take women seriously”(The Daily MBA). If you have the same degree and experience as a man who has your job, why wouldn’t you guys have the same pay? It’s not fair to be just as educated and capable as a man get paid the same. Personally, all of this comes down to there simply being double standards, expectations, and traditions that were taught throughout households. If they don’t start with the beginning, meaning our kids, I don’t think it will ever change. This is a generational problem that continues as mindsets are shaped while growing up.

Human trafficking is a concerning issue all over the United States. Women are exposed to unhealthy and unsafe conditions during experiences like this. “According to a new report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the vast majority of all human trafficking victims – some 71 percent – are women and girls and one third are children” (Sustainable Development). With this being said, when will there actually be a time where the gender roles are reversed and the majority of men are being trafficked. I am not saying this could never happen, but realistically and statistically it is not going to happen. Equality means being equal to opportunities, and rights. According to Colorado, Child Trafficking Survivor Reveals Horrifying Ordeal, Jessa Crisp talked about her experience with human tracking and how it’s a job you can’t just get out of. “The sole purpose of being trafficked is to be sold”(Crisp). She spoke about having to realize her life was not normal and that it was considered wrong. Women over are more vulnerable to different types of physical abuse. Men are hurt as well, but studies show and prove it is not nearly as much as women. I am from Atlanta, Georgia and human trafficking is trending there. Growing up in that environment, I was taught to always scream when in danger and to look over my shoulder due to the high trafficking rates. Sex trafficking is unfair and something that goes beyond the United States, it happens all over the world. Women have been stereotyped and labeled as weak.

It is important that if they ever have a chance to be equal they must learn to take care of our own in every way possible. Furthermore, being independent shows a capable quality they are not expected to have. In conclusion, I do not believe women will ever reach full equality. Speaking for us as a whole I think that there are women who want to be catered to taken care of. There are women who enjoy being a housewife and dream for that role. For example, there are TV shows and organizations in the United that support the “housewife” roles and titles. To add on too, they are subjected to discrimination immediately as our names and features are seen to employers and businesses. As long as women are still paying more for personal products, not earning the same pay for jobs they are just as qualified for and are far more likely to be subjected to human trafficking, there will be no equality. “ The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was the first international agreement to declare women’s rights as human rights”(Mullins). Women’s rights weren’t even looked upon as human rights for a very long time. As long as they are still being discriminated for our gender equality will not exist. Also, equality should be extended to every aspect of a women’s daily life and routine. Housewives should be striving for equality the same way working women do. It is not fair to halfway ask for equal rights.

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