When we look at society as a whole it is impossible not to notice what large chunk women constitute. However, if we take a look at history, we quickly notice that women have been forever struggling to get equal rights and stand on completely equal footings when placed among male counterparts. Ever since the 1980s we have seen a clear change that is still going on. In developed countries we see new women appear in politics, like Crystal Clanton in USA, but in the less-developed countries there are still many struggles that women need to face before they can be accepted in politics, along other positions of power.
Most likely, the most important thing in women empowerment is to make the voices of women heard. This is possible only when they do participate in politics. The problem is that we do not see many women participating. Why is that? Unfortunately, many different reasons can be highlighted around the world. Those that are presented below are just those that are the most common.
Cultural Barriers
In developing countries we see women as being a mother, daughter and sister. Women are actually seen as the person in a family that takes care of the house. Women are not actually allowed to choose what profession they want to have. Even if this is allowed, there are only limited choices available.
Education
Although we live in what is labeled as being a modern society, if we look at the global scale we can quickly notice that education is a huge problem. There are women that are actually really educated and do prefer to stay safe as they join various professions like teachers. At the same time, most women in developing countries do not even have the needed knowledge to be involved in politics as they are not given access to it. Policy making is largely dictated by men and women are willingly left uneducated so they cannot dispute what is said by men.
Institutional Barriers
This includes absolutely all procedures and processes that make it really difficult for a woman to survive in political working scenarios. In order to become acceptable, the woman has to change feminist behavior into masculine flows that would lead to society isolating her. If this does not happen the woman is faced with extreme pressure to maintain a life and work balance that simply does not apply to men.
A Patriarchal System
This is especially noticed in developing countries as patriarchal systems are present in all fields. Women basically cannot be involved in a specific field because of pressure from families and male citizens. When they do select politics, the patriarchal culture needs to be faced and the skills of the woman are automatically considered as being lower than that of the man.
Economic Dependency
Last but not least, most women around the world have to deal with domestic chores and are really dependent on men. The economic dependence stops confidence and discourages the woman from exhibiting specific desires or intentions.
