Women's Rights and the Struggle for Equality - by Kendel Holdorf

For centuries women have been suppressed in many ways. It has been a constant battle to gain basic rights for women and create an equal world between men and women. Is there someone in your life you would put up this fight for? It is time that women be understood and cared for the way anyone else would.

I’d like to start by taking you down a journey that I know all too well, motherhood. When I was 21 I found out I was pregnant with my first son, Julian. His father and I weren’t together, so I was left to figure it out by myself, of course with the support of my family and friends. At the time I only had a high school degree, a 9-5 job, and lived with my mom. I knew I needed to step up and do something to better my life, so I switched jobs and began serving at night and attended esthetician school during the day. That was a challenging time in my life, working 6 days a week to save up to take time off for maternity leave, and attending school 5 days a week.

Eventually I graduated, still while pregnant, and worked as much as I could to save as much as possible since it was only my income that was going to support us. During my pregnancy I felt like I had absolutely no help or guidance from the medical team. One day, I had an appointment at my doctor’s office to check in on my pregnancy. I was obviously alone, and looked younger than my actual age, all the other women were there with their partners, some who came in after me, called back before me. It felt as if I was being judged for not having a man by my side, or anyone there with me. Finally, I was called back and I waited 2 hours in the room before the doctor made her way to visit me. I was furious, I felt as if I wasn’t as important as the other women, I felt completely uncared for.

With my second pregnancy I was carrying twins and it was harder than the first. This time around I had my boyfriend by my side, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Many times did I tell my doctor I was in excruciating pain and I was told I would be referred to a physical therapist but nothing more. I even visited the hospital a few times and wasn’t listened to, they never once did an ultrasound to check on the babies, just told me, “you’re dehydrated that’s what’s causing the pain.” I explained it was horrible, aching pain, I couldn’t lay down, stand up, sit up, anything and everything hurt. At one hospital visit no one even came to ask me my symptoms and I was there for a few hours without being seen by just a nurse, so I got up and walked out as it was obvious no one was going to listen. At a routine ultrasound weeks later, they found the twins were in trouble, one was taking all the amniotic fluid from the other, sending him into heart failure and the other dying from no nutrients. It was such a serious complication I had to be flown to Colorado that night for emergency surgery and thankfully that corrected the issue. If only ONE person had listened to what I was saying about my own body, my boys wouldn’t have been put in the position of almost dying, just one person had to stop and take me seriously.

The number of pregnant women who die due to complications with their pregnancies or during childbirth is 700-900 a year. (Ellison, 2017) How is this overlooked, how is this not something that is taken more seriously. Not only were my twins at risk but the surgery to help them survive sent my body into such shock I needed two blood transfusions, I had amniotic fluid leak into my lungs and around my heart, two valves in my heart stopped working correctly, and my blood pressure dropped so low they had to ask my boyfriend who he would want them to save if needed, the twins or myself. Is it because I am young that I was unheard? Or is it simply the fact because I am a woman, that instead of getting the medical attention that I needed I should “lay down and have my husband rub my back.” As one male doctor told me to do, bold of him to assume I was married by the way.

Following pregnancy is obviously birth, which can bring on postpartum issues. Postpartum can be present in 1 out of 10 women and estimated about 50% of those women are not diagnosed by a medical professional, meaning many women are not getting the help they need. (Carberg, 2021) From my experience with both pregnancies, after giving birth, the baby must have an appointment with a pediatrician before they are allowed to leave the hospital. They are seen within 2 days of being born at the pediatrician’s office, then a few times over the course of two months. A mother who just gives birth, whether it be through c-section or vaginally is seen ONCE at a 6 week check up appointment. Someone who just experiences either a serious abdominal surgery or possible tearing during childbirth, who experiences a huge drop in hormones and roller coaster road of emotions, or someone who is a single mother and has no idea how to care for a child and take care of themselves, is checked up on only once after.

According to the 2021 Census, 11,016,000 families were recorded as a single parent household and out of the total number 80% of those families were single mother households. (“Single Parent Statistics,” 2022) This can be greatly affected because of another equality issue women face which is the gender pay gap. In 1973 it was recorded by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Data that women’s earnings were 57% of men’s, it took 47 years and was recorded that in 2020 the number raised to 82.3%. (Jones, 2021) Why is it that men and women are not being paid fairly, even to this day. If the majority of single parent families are being ran by women, this can cause poverty issues, financial struggles, and keep a woman from achieving the type of salary relief that a single father can receive. This website, Employment and Earnings by Occupation | U.S. Department of Labor (dol.gov), allows you to choose a profession and see the amount of men and women that consist of jobs in that field and the average pay for both genders. For example, the average amount of full-time human resource managers includes 59,647 men and 180,262 women. The median pay for a man with this profession is $95,120 and yet for women it is only $80,175.(“Earnings by Occupation,” 2022) This is the same qualifications, same responsibilities, same effort required, just different genders, that should not be a reason someone gets paid less.

I want people to be angry and passionate, to help bring an end to these problems we face. Women’s rights is such a meaningful topic, even as a man you were given life from a woman, you were able to thrive and grow from the help of a woman and her abilities to move mountains. There has never been a movement called men’s rights, because it has never been an issue, but if there were and tables were turned, people would be fighting with the same rage. These statistics discussed are solely based in the USA, but that doesn’t mean the problems girls and women face stop at the border. Stand up for your mother, sister, daughter, or the little girl you pass by on the street, and realize the amount of potential they could have.

References

Carberg, J. (2022, March 22). Statistics on Postpartum Depression - Postpartum Depression Resources. PostpartumDepression.org. https://www.postpartumdepression.org...es/statistics/

Employment and Earnings by Occupation. (n.d.). U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/wb/data/occupations

ProPublica. (2020, March 2). Severe Complications for Women During Childbirth Are Skyrocketing — and Could Often Be Prevented. https://www.propublica.org/article/s...n-be-prevented

Single Parent Statistics in 2022 (Mothers vs. Fathers Data). (2022, June 27). Real Diapers. https://realdiapers.org/single-parent/

Staff, E. D. (2013, December 18). You Won’t Believe How Many Countries Still Won’t Allow Women The Right To Education. Elite Daily. https://www.elitedaily.com/women/sep...lity-education

U.S. Census Bureau. (2022, April 12). Women Consistently Earn Less Than Men. Census.gov. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/01/gender-pay-gap-widens-as-women-age.html

5 Facts About the State of the Gender Pay Gap. (2021, March 19). U.S. Department of Labor Blog. https://blog.dol.gov/2021/03/19/5-fa...gender-pay-gap