What would you answer when asked the question Miss Utah was? It would depend on where you lived, just as it was for her. Raised in a Patriarchal environment, what does it say about society today in America when 40% of women are the major breadwinners yet make less than their counterparts?
It says to me that it’s still a Patriarchal Society and women are picking up the slack, as always, until their spouses, partners, or significant others can get training for today’s jobs. All you have to do is read the current edition of Bloomberg’s Business Week to hear from CEO’s of major corporations about the skills gap.
Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm asked,” Advanced manufacturing doesn’t really generate a lot of operating jobs, and the jobs it does create are highly skilled. Manufacturing that requires a lot of lower skilled labor will likely continue to be located outside of North America. So how important, finally, is manufacturing to U.S. job growth?”
Jorge Ramirez, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor asked, “The skills gap in America has nearly reached a crisis point. There are hundreds of thousands of unfilled high-skilled jobs, particularly in areas such as manufacturing, while millions of people are out of work. How do we reconcile this discrepancy so that businesses can maximize productivity and, more important, working men and women can secure meaningful, family-sustaining employment that builds a strong middle class?”
You can read President Bill Clinton’s responses yourself. But it points to the issue of women stepping up to fill a void in a temporary time. Women are capable of being the workforce at any level, but our society is not geared for women outside the home. Men are still in charge. Men are wired to be the protector, the hunter-gatherer, and the hero. It will be many generations before there is any change, if ever. Especially when retailers advertise these values are important and that’s why you should buy my product. From bad-assed trucks to guns, rugged outdoor clothing, ironman competitions, survivor shows, endurance runs, prove yourself on a bicycle – and the list goes on – etc., this constant barrage of messages only reinforces the patriarchal society.
So, hats off to Miss Utah. She may have stumbled on the answer, but the question should never have been asked in the first place. Not in that environment. Nene wouldn’t have liked the answer anyway.