Women should be paid the same wages as men.
The equality of women with men is a new concept and has been raging for some time now. It was an article of faith that women were subservient to men and were glad and happy to play their role at home and to preside over the destiny of the household. They were happy to bring up a healthy family and see their sons and daughters well placed in life. They looked after many chores of the house and it came naturally to them. Quite recently indeed when women began seeking careers, the question of equality and equal wages for the same work as men do has come up.
Women were looked upon for long as the weaker sex and they were to be protected by men. History has it in abundance to prove this. In peace and war, and in councils it was men who had wedded power though there had been cases of brave and wise women who could decide the fate of a country. But it was far and few between. Now that women have taken to careering; their equality has come up and we find women in factories and offices working along with men. Hence it is only natural that they demand the same wages.
The case against them is that they are physically weak and so cannot do the same quantum of work as men. But it has not been proved in practice. Whenever women are found to be more efficient and capable they deserve better attention. They do work neatly and quickly too because by nature women are fastidious. As a rule whatever they do, they do it better and in a nicer way. This fact cannot be shrugged off. Another reason why women are preferred to men nowadays is they are not distracted so easily and are not so argumentative as men. At the worst, in bad situations, they resort to tears whereas men start fighting.
If women are paid less, it may be because people feel they are not as productive as men. It may be because they get tired easily and cannot work longer hours than men. Another reason is the mobility in women from one work to another, or from one place to another. Hence the employer manipulating this situation, bargains to his advantage. The clamour for equal wages for equal work has not only caught the imagination of women but also men and has been gaining momentum. It is only natural they should ask, for their rights to be recognized without any insidious distinction between men and women especially in the matter of wages at the public level, i.e in the government. So more and more women are seeking careers that were once the preserve of menfolk. But the distinction of the sexes is certainly still prevalent for those in private employment. This, one may hope, is to become a thing of the past. In fact, because of their concentration and nimble fingers in certain industries, women are preferred to men, for instance in the electronic industry. One thing is certain it should be a case of division of labour and not a competition so that it would not tell on the social fabric of the future society.
