Poem #128 Women’s Empowerment!

There are many things, a child hears growing up,

That forms the foundation of their thoughts, as a grown-up;

Add to it the societal norm of “fair” lady, of whats valued attractive,

Facilitating to readily render, a woman’s worth counteractive.

Statements like, “Don’t be such a girl”, to motivate boys to better their best,

Result in a mind-set, that women are not on par with the rest;

Stereotypes like, “Don’t cry or run like a girl” & “You have to man up”,

Further skews the scales for womankind, making it harder to catch-up.

References like “Daddy’s little girl” & “My girl” encourage the trend,

Laying foundation to the thought, that women are owned by their men;

Statements like, “You need to be a man & protect “your” women”,

Further askew the scales, in the grand master plan.

Step into adult life, with a woman’s strife for equality,

The expectation is now, she manage both home and work deftly;

At home she is guilt tripped, when she wants to rise in her career like a shark,

While request for a work-life balance at her work, is deemed as an excuse to shirk.

At home when the man says “no”, it’s the end of a conversation,

While when a woman says “no”, it’s the beginning of a discussion;

When a man plans and executes, it’s strategic reasoning;

While when a woman does the same, she is labeled “calculating”.

When men disagree, they end up having a discussion,

When it includes a woman, it’s regarded an argument, a dissension;

When collaborative and communal, in men are viewed as prominent,

While in women, the same attributes, are perceived incompetent.

In construes of social attitudes, a man is allowed to react, 

While in a similar situation, a woman can only overreact;

Display of emotions, is viewed as a strength of a mans character,

While the same in a women is labeled, as a tendency to “overact” after.

As leaders, men take the crown with professionally conducive descriptions,

Analytical, competent, confident, logical and practical in their perceptions;

While portrayal as compassionate,energetic, enthusiastic and organized,

Makes a woman leaders’ struggle, tougher than they may have realized.

Describing the developmental areas, where a man may be excused,

With “arrogance”, as a minor character flaw easily defused; 

A woman is branded with a more serious “inept”, 

Indicating professionally, she needed to have been better prepped!

While a man is pronounced confident and assertive,

A women is perceived bossy and aggressive;

A male leader gets to be called decisive and relatable,

While a women on in the same shoe is categorized cold and unlikeable.

We can go on, about sexist behaviors, that need to end,

Our societal outlook, and everything that needs a mend;

The fact remains, that men are no longer the sole breadwinners,

And women are no longer the sole caregivers.

It’s time to necessitate collective action, not just everyone’s pity,

Women now entail not the famed equality, but the much needed equity!

In order for the world, to be in its rightful place and feel whole,

Women Empowerment, needs to be everyone’s top goal!