Womens Equality | Teen Ink

Womens Equality

May 1, 2024
By Anonymous

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Hillary Rodham Clinton offer speeches that present two different perspectives and approaches in addressing gender equality. In Hillary's speech  she addresses women inequality around the world, expressing the hardships women have to face in today's society like limited resources and opportunities. She also goes on to show the impact women are able to have with their limited opportunities and advocates that women continue to get help so there can be a better world economy and overall future. In Adichie's speech she focuses on the perception of Women in society and the everyday struggles they face. She also advocates for equality between women and men by informing everyone to come together and fix this problem. She is able to do this by showing the vast history of women and their roles in society throughout time. Through this, Adichie is able to show how women are treated unequally and men and women need to come together to fix this problem. 

In the speech APEC Women and the Economy Summit by Hillary Clinton, she believes that women are already driving growth and are closer to unlocking the full potential of women, as well as becoming more involved in the economic life of nations around the world. In the speech Clinton states “In the U.S., a McKinsey study found that women went from holding 37% of all jobs to nearly 48% over the past 40 years.”(P12, PG5) This statistical fact showed by Clinton shows a actual increase  jobs held by women, proving that there is already growth in women being more involved in the world. Another piece of evidence states “The productivity gains attributed to this modest increase in women's overall share of the labor market accounts for approximately one-quarter of the current.

While in Adichie’s speech, she claims that men and women are biologically different and that most men are physically stronger than women, but that this fact is not as important as it once was. In the text it states ¨So in a literal way, men rule the world. This made sense – a thousand years ago. Because human beings lived then in a world in which physical strength was the most important attribute for survival; the physically stronger person was more likely to lead. And men in general are physically stronger.¨ With this quote, Adichie explains the roles of men and women thousands of years ago so that readers can understand the change society has faced. She explains how thousands of years ago men were made out to lead due to being physically dominant. During those times being stronger physically mattered the most because strength was most needed for survival. In the text it states ¨Today, we live in a vastly different world. The person more qualified to lead is not the physically stronger person. It is the more intelligent, the more knowledgeable, the more creative, more innovative. And there are no hormones for those attributes. A man is as likely as a woman to be intelligent, innovative, creative. We have evolved. But our ideas of gender have not evolved very much.¨ With quotes like this on how men and women are biologically different, Adichie informs the readers on how the world has vastly changed and with that the roles of men and women. In todayś world Roles have changed where those who are stronger intellectually rather than physically are more fit to be leaders today. 

Between Clinton's and Adichie's speeches, Adichie's speech was more empowering as she was able to connect personal experiences with how women were treated unequally.  Adichie claims that even though the roles of men and women have evolved, our ideas of gender have not evolved very much. In the text it states ¨Not long ago, I walked into the lobby of one of the best Nigerian hotels, and a guard at the entrance stopped me and asked me annoying questions – What was the name and room number of the person I was visiting? Did I know this person? Could I prove that I was a hotel guest by showing him my key card? – because the automatic assumption is that a Nigerian female walking into a hotel alone is a sex worker. Because a Nigerian female alone cannot possibly be a guest paying for her own room. A man who walks into the same hotel is not harassed.¨ With this quote, Adichie tells personal stories so that readers can understand how gender perception is a problem. Adichie tells the story of how she was misjudged by a guard who presumed she was a sex worker not knowing she did have her own room. This shows how ideas of gender haven't changed and are still present today. Another quote states ¨Each time I walk into a Nigerian restaurant with a man, the waiter greets the man and ignores me. The waiters are products of a society that has taught them that men are more important than women, and I know that they don’t intend harm, but it is one thing to know something intellectually and quite another to feel it emotionally. Each time they ignore me, I feel invisible. I feel upset.¨ With these quotes like this on ideas on gender, Adichie informs the readers of her experiences and interactions with men. She describes how a waiter greeted other men but ignored her, showing no formal respect. This shows that men like the waiter are products of a society that has taught them that men are more important than women without even knowing. Adichie's speech is more empowering because it highlights the social norms that affect the everyday life of women, which needs to be fixed in order to resolve inequality. This cannot be said the same for Clinton's speech which only advocates on women's role in society.

In conclusion, both these speeches by Clinton and Adichie are advocating for women and wanting better for them, but are expressed in different ways. In Clinton's speech she advocates for equality between women and men by informing everyone to come together and fix this problem.



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