Women and men are equal. We’ve all heard those sayings meant to empower women, right? “Everything a man can do a woman can do better”, “There’s no difference between men and women.” But is there really a need to fight for equality by burying the differences that men and women have? Why not celebrate the similarities as well as the differences. Rather than aiming to be better than men or be like them, why not aim to be the best woman possible?

You don’t fight for equality by reverse sexism. Create a level playing field where people are appointed to positions because of capabilities and not their sex, but remember still that some capabilities are enhanced by sex because of hormones. For instance, men are stronger than women because of testosterone. Does that make us less equal? No! We have calls for legislation calling for companies to appoint a set number of women to executive jobs. Problem with that is even when a man is more capable, he misses out on a deserved position. If equality is what we want, then we have missed the point. Do we really want to get jobs because of our sex rather than the fact that we are capable?

Men and women are different and whether we like it or not, men do not have the anatomy to carry a baby, nor do they breast feed. And whether we like it or not, men are stronger, physically than women based on the simple fact that testosterone beats oestrogen. Testosterone causes increased muscle mass, which then means more strength. Does that make me less equal to men? No! it just makes me different. Fact is I need maternity leave because yes, being pregnant is hard work! It is life threatening work! But it doesn’t in anyway mean I’m a less valuable entity in the work force.

I wonder which woman or group of women decided that stay at home mums were wasting their talents or that working mums are bad mums. You have women feeling guilty about not staying home with their children wanting to feel superior to those staying home and those staying at home trying to fight for recognition. But in the end, we make our choices differently.

Part of being the best I can be is admitting that I can do a lot but can’t do everything, and I can do a lot better than men but not everything they can do. Just like they can do a lot better than me but they can’t do everything. We need each other, time to put the pitch forks down and work together!

#Vivateamcelebratingwomanhoodandmanhood!