We have two precious and wild little boys. They are intelligent and curious and very active. Either one has the potential, at this point in life, for greatness. But will they have the opportunity?
As society moves on from the norms of twenty years ago there are still some lingering issues that need to be resolved when it comes to discrimination. The glass ceiling is still there, although more women seem to be breaking through daily, and there is still chauvinism and misogyny in the world. Those are individual issues and things that are no longer considered acceptable. Our mores have evolved to where, even here in Texas, discrimination is looked down upon and readily confronted. Women are allowed to succeed, and strive on the basis of their merits. That was the purpose in including discrimination against women in the Civil Rights Act in 1964, and the purpose of including women as a protected class in the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972.
That would be 47 and 39 years ago, respectively. Today, 57% of college students are female, and the unemployment rate among men is a full 2% higher than that for women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That begs the question,
“Why are women still a protected class?”
I am not saying that there aren’t cases of sexual harassment and discrimination, but why is it that the rules are different? If a male is just as likely to work for a female as the other way around then why should he have a higher burden of proof?
All of our children deserve equal access to education, the workplace and opportunity. Why are we denying it to boys based upon the social dynamic of our grandparents?
