Gender Mainstreaming: Were We Come From & Where We Are Going

   
     Many hear the term "Gender Mainstreaming" and think, "What exactly does gender mainstreaming have to do with me?" Gender mainstreaming has everything to do with everybody. Gender mainstreaming is a cultural phenomenon in which a nation or a society strives to integrate a particular gender, wither male or female, into an aspect of society. One of the most common aspects that gender mainstreaming takes place is in the business fields of science, technology, engineering, and politics. According to the United Nations, "development agencies agreed to adopt “gender mainstreaming” as a new strategy for ensuring the incorporation of gender perspectives in all areas and sectors, and at all levels, to promote gender
equality." (United Nations, 2006.)http://web.undp.org/evaluation/documents/eo_gendermainstreaming.pdf,
     The idea of gender equality is notion that has been fostered and cultivated since the early nineteen hundreds. Back then, females in the United States only made up 18.8 percent of the population, those of course that was 16 and old. In over 100 years, that same population has drastically increased to 58.6 percent of the population in the United States. Talks of gender equality has became a political strong point in the elections this year, as women want to know where does there equality lie in terms of importance to the government. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104673.html
     In today's society women not only demand, but expect to have more equality in the workplace as women are going to college, receiving advanced degrees, and gaining a variety of experience that their fore-mothers were not able to achieve. It is also important to recognize that gender equality is also necessary in a world where women are becoming the bread winners in society as well.

Can't Live Without Your Technology?

What do you do when you first wake up in the morning? I know that when I ask my friends and family this question, one of the first things that they say is check their cell phone or Facebook. In 2012, technology plays such a strong part in our everyday lives that we can't think how we ever got along without it. Friends can't believe that they ever connected, let alone talked to each other without Facebook. Families no longer pick up the phone to call each other, they just send a message over Facebook or send a picture through Flickr or Instagram. But in the multibillion dollar technological industry, is there anyone who doesn't have access to modern technological advances such as cellphones or the Internet? Most Americans would answer "no" but then again, that is most "Americans".

Do you know that less than 1 percent of men and women in the developing countries around the world have some type of technology such as cellular phones or the Internet? In places such as India, Africa, and the Middle East, technology is scarce if not existent. If you are thinking that this is crazy, think about the fact that the most access countries like this have to technology is due to their work, and most of them are men that have this access. If we are so "cultured", I think that technology should be shared with developing countries so that we can improve their way of living. Think about the chain reaction that would send. If developing countries were able to get caught up with the rest of the world, then the economy and overall humanity would improve. 

At the end of the day, when you are sitting at home and thinking about how you ever lived without all of your gadgets and gizmos, try being appreciative in the fact that you have this "advanced technology". Because when you are saying you can't live without it, there are people who ARE living without it.