Thursday, October 13, 2005

This Is What I Am Talking About


A woman has become Chancellor of Germany and suddenly a lot of career women in Germany are coming forth with gender specific workplace questions.

A few days back I talked of going beyond foetus talk. This is what I am talking about. The pro-choice stand is all good, but that is not the only issue women face. Infact, for most women, that is more symbolic than a choice they personally hope to face.

So expand the agenda. Talk more broadly. Dig up many more issues in gender relations. Issues to do with relationships and marriages, issues in the home, at the workplace, issues out in the streets, issues where big money and big power come into play.

The same applies to race relations, and cultural diversity issues. Too often worshipping Martin Luther King is used as an excuse to make no further progress on race relations. Education, health and economic growth cut across all racial lines, but there are a host of issues that are race specific, and those have to be talked about openly.

Digging up issues, and putting them on the table, and engaging in productive dialogue might be the best way to make progress on both race and gender.

Only I wish the women in Germany talked these issues up also before.

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