Justina's Writing Corner

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What are women? Who are women? Why are women in the world? Where is women’s place? How should women be women? 

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Women, half of the total population, the bearers of life, the nurtures and caretakers of the next generation–have made monumental contributions throughout history and yet they are insufficiently recognized and mistreated. From the dawn of civilization, women have been tasked with the unseen, uncelebrated labor of holding societies together. They tilled the fields, raised the children, healed the sick, yet still endured countless injustices, and their sacrifices are either dismissed as natural or expected. 

And these unseen women have fought so much in advancing women’s rights and opportunities throughout history for their work to be appreciated and recognized. From the suffragette movement to the feminist waves, women fought for and won the right to vote, own property, and work in fields once dominated by men. Now, women can finally lead corporations, innovate in the STEM fields, and even serve in positions of power. 

However, even in the so-called modern age with so much progress, somethings still stayed the same: inequalities and discrimination. While women have stepped into spheres that were once forbidden–boardrooms, courtrooms, parliaments–but the barriers are far from gone. Women are still judged by their appearances, marital status, and ability to “balance” family and career. 

Today, women in parts of the world are even denied many basic rights. Education, for one, a deemed fundamental right, is not accessible for girls in countries like Afghanistan. Books like I am Malala, highlight how girls have to risk their lives to attend school. 

But for me, what feels closer and more personal is the corporate discrimination that remains deeply ingrained in both developed and developing countries. 

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Though women have proven their capabilities in the workforce, they still face systemic barriers. In 2022, women in the United States earned approximately 82 cents for every dollar earned by men (a ratio has not really changed over the past 20 years). Tha pay disparity becomes even more glaring in high-paying industries, where women remain significantly underrepresented in top leadership roles. As of 2023, women held 10.6% of CEO positions within Fortune 500 companies. Even though there has been a modest increase from previous years (which was 10% in 2017), this low percentage still reflects a very big bender imbalance. While 57% of Americans  believe women are just as capable as men in leadership, societal expectations often demand that women “prove” their qualifications to a much greater extent than their male counterparts. 42% of working women have experienced gender-based discrimination in the workplace, including being passed over for important assignments or promotions. 

Marital and parental status further adds to this discrimination. Married women are often perceived as a hiring risk due to assumptions that they might prioritize family over work. This bias is amplified when women have children. It is shown that 23% of working mothers report being treated as if they are less committed to their jobs, compared to just 15% of fathers. This double standard forces many women to either delay starting a family or face career stagnation. 

Why is this still the reality? Perhaps it is because deep down, our society clings to outdated notions of gender roles: women responsible for caregiving while men freely pursue their ambitions. It feels as though society has handed women a clock with a choice: devote your time to your career or let the ticking sound remind you of the “biological window” you are expected to fulfill. 

The playing field was never level to begin with. Women are asked to lean in, push harder, and prove themselves repeatedly while being met with skepticism and unfair scrutiny.

As Sheryl Sandbery observes in  Lean in, “Women are held to a higher standard than men. A man is presumed to be competent until he proves otherwise; a woman is presumed to be incompetent unless she proves otherwise.” 

It is a pessimistic cycle that feels inescapable. 

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Modern women walk a precarious tightrope, where the pursuit of independence and ambition constantly clashes with the age-old traditions of being a wife and mother. The expectation to succeed professionally looms large, yet the demand to fulfill traditional family roles is never far behind. Women are told they can “have it all,” but the reality is far messier and fraught with contradictions. 

In many societies, particularly in the United States and other cultures influenced by traditional gender roles, motherhood is insisted upon as the cornerstone of being a “good” daughter or wife. Women who choose not to have children are often branded as selfish or incomplete, failing to meet an imposed biological and cultural obligation that is deeply entrenched across many cultures. 

Orna Donath, sociologist of Regretting Motherhood sees that motherhood is often treated as “a sacred biological and social mission” and any woman who rejects it faces severe ostracism and stigma.

Yet, for those who do become mothers, the expectation is clear: they must balance the rigors of parenting with their careers as if the emotional and physical toll of motherhood is inconsequential. 

Anne-Marie Slaughter in Why Women Still can’t Have it All believes that “The pressure to be both the perfect mother and a perfect professional is relentless, and it leaves little room for women to make choices without feeling guilty or failure.”

This impossible double standard creates a double blind, where excelling at one role inevitably invites criticism for neglecting the other. 

This untenable paradox leaves women with a question of balance. However, even when one achieves balance, one still feels hollow (despite successfully juggling these roles, women feel unfulfilled because the balance they strive for often comes at the cost of their own needs, passions, health, and mental well-being). Women are expected to perform flawlessly in all aspects of life, but when they falter–as anyone inevitably does–they face harsh scrutiny. The criticism is relentless, coming from family members, communities, workplaces, and even the media which glorifies women who seemingly “do it all” without ever acknowledging personal cost. 

I’ve seen this firsthand with my mother, who has always juggled her career and taking care of me with incredible balance. While I feel proud of her and do not even want her to sacrifice what she loves for taking care of me, others, including my “aunt” constantly try to create a divide between us. They question why can’t she spend more time with her “dear daughter” and belittles her career (her job “isn’t even that important”). 

Even women who break through barriers and achieve monumental success find themselves judged by a different yardstick. A female CEO like Marissa Mayer may be lauded for her professional achievement but still questioned about “how do you manage your pregnancy and work?” The implication is clear–no matter how high a woman climbs, her ultimate worth is tied to her responsibility to fulfill her familial obligations. As if the father in the family is invisible and unable to provide any assistance. 

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Having talked so much about corporate discrimination against women, you might wonder why I am making such a big fuss about it. Isn’t it just a part of life that we all have to deal with? But I want to emphasize that it is not something people should just accept or tolerate.  

Let’s take a day-to-day life example. Discrimination against women has become more subtle in modern times, cleverly disguised under the guise of meritocracy or other “neutral” standards. Even as a college student who hasn’t yet stepped into the corporate world, I’ve already experienced it firsthand–though clubs, of all places

During my freshman year, I was eager to apply to finance-related clubs, spending hours perfecting applications and preparing for interviews. However, I quickly noticed something strange. Most of the interviewees I saw waiting outside the rooms were men. At first, I brushed it off–maybe it was just a coincidence. But as I observed more, it became clear that nearly 80% of those selected from the applicant pool were men. This felt odd, considering more than half (58.9%)of the NYU student population were women (US News). Where were all the women?

When I finally made it onto one of the teams, the gender imbalance became even more obvious. Women were a rare presence, making up only a small fraction of the members. You might ask, “why do you think this is discrimination? Maybe women just aren’t as good or as interested.” I would strongly reject that idea. If women are good and interested enough to apply and gain admission to the same prestigious NYU campus in the first place, they have already proven themselves as equally capable being admitted. So why are they (who filled up almost 60% of the applicant pool) being filtered out after that point? The only explanation is systemic bias–discrimination hiding behind seemingly neutral processes.  

This realization wasn’t just limited to my club experience. Across 24 finance and professional clubs on campus, the trend was eerily consistent. In about 20 of them, the majority of members and leadership roles were dominated by men (which are proudly listed on their website), even in fields where women are equally–or sometimes better–represented academically. It made me wonder: if women are already being excluded at the college level, what happens when they graduate and enter the corporate world?

The problem is not just about numbers or ratios. It’s about the barriers women face before they even get the chance to prove themselves. It’s about the unspoken biases embedded in recruitment processes, the unequal expectations, and the stereotypes (women are less competent than men) that discourage women from even trying. What I’ve seen so far is only a small taste of the challenges to come, and it’s a clear reminder that this issue isn’t something to quietly “deal with.” It demands something bigger. 

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To be honest, there are far more people affected by this issue than we might realize. Almost every woman who has faced corporate discrimination has thought of ways to fight back, leading to the creation of organizations like 100 Women in Finance. These initiatives aim to empower women in professional spaces, but they often fall short of their goals. Why? Because men continuously find ways to exploit these resources, taking advantage of spaces meant to uplift the underprivileged women and turning them into yet another platform for their own benefit. 

Take, for instance, the recent women’s finance career conference at NYU–a space specifically designed to provide women with opportunities to network, grow, and share experiences in a supportive environment. Yet, at least 30% of the attendees were men. The event was meant to be a haven where women had to fight for their right to exist without interference. When organizers and participants attempted to kindly ask these men to leave and reminded them that this was an all-women’s conference, the response was horrible. Instead of acknowledging their mistake, some accused us of “reverse discrimination.” Hilarious!

Even worse, there were instances where men made flimsy excuses to justify their presence. One man boldly claimed that he identified as a woman while standing there with short hair, a beard, and traditionally male clothing. I want to be clear–this isn’t about targeting trans or queer individuals. You can usually tell when someone is being genuine about their identity. But in this case, it was painfully obvious that these men were using a bad excuse to circumvent boundaries set to protect women and get an already easy way easier. 

This kind of behavior highlights something deeper. It is not just about men showing up where they are not wanted; it is about the pervasive entitlement that makes them believe they can insert themselves into spaces specifically created to address the challenges they don’t face. It is exhausting and demoralizing that women are left feeling unsupported even in spaces designed specifically for them. 

The fight for equality is’t just about breaking into corporate boardrooms; but also about holding on to the spaces where we can stand together (UNAPOLOGETICALLY) as WOMEN! 

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“Career Woman or Housewife—Here Is the Case for the Woman Who Works.” The New York Times, 4 Mar. 1945, http://www.nytimes.com/1945/03/04/archives/career-woman-or-housewife-here-is-the-case-for-the-woman-who.html.

Yousafzai, Malala, 1997- author. I Am Malala : the Girl Who Stood up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York, NY :Little, Brown, & Company, 2013.

“Gender Discrimination Comes in Many Forms for Today’s Working Women.” Pew Research Center, 14 Dec. 2017, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/.

Barroso, Amanda, and Anna Brown. “The Enduring Grip of the Gender Pay Gap.” Pew Research Center, 1 Mar. 2023, https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/03/01/the-enduring-grip-of-the-gender-pay-gap/.

Statista Research Department. “Share of Women CEOs in Fortune 500 Companies in the United States from 2000 to 2023.” Statista, 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/691192/share-of-women-ceos-fortune-500/.

Sandberg, Sheryl. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Knopf, 2013. 

Donath, Orna. Regretting Motherhood: A Study. North Atlantic Books, 2017.

Slaughter, Anne-Marie. “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” The Atlantic, July-Aug. 2012, https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/.

U.S. News & World Report. “New York University Student Life.” U.S. News & World Report, https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/nyu-2785/student-life#:~:text=New%20York%20University%20has%20a,of%20students%20live%20off%20campus. Accessed 12 Dec. 2024.