When you look back at all the changes that women have made, we cannot be anything but proud of our progression in so many areas. I want to say first that I’m an African American woman who is now a senior. I served in the military and grew up in Harlem. The statement above pertains to all women of every color, but for African American women it has been a labor and it still is.
When I was in the military, I was part of the group that went from WACs to inclusion in some areas that men dominated. There was no more WAC label – we had become just soldiers, as men were. The fight for equality in the military took years before we saw any type of real inclusion, for instance with regards to rank and jobs, and African American soldiers are still fighting for equality, not just with men but with white women too. The battle signs of equality are few, but when you compare where you are now with where we’ve come from you still have to be proud.
Jobs in corporations are still dominated by males; however, women in general are cracking the glass ceiling that has eluded us for so long. This is another area where African American women are not only against the good old boys club, but also against white women. It seems that African American women have to prove themselves twice as hard to be seen as equals not only with respect to men but to white women as well. It seems that the men who run these corporations let just enough women of color in so that it gives the appearance of equality. Women of color have this attitude that says they are up for the challenge and will not be denied their place in corporate America. Our little girls are being taught that there is nothing they cannot do, and any obstacles they find along their way should not deter them from pursuing their dreams. Those obstacles should not be stop signs, but encourage them to fight to figure out how to overcome them.
Women have gone from having babies, cleaning the house, cooking, and almost being servants to the men who, instead, went out and worked. Women’s place was to cater to their men and that’s was it; then something happened, and women realized that they had worth and had as much to offer to this world as men did. Marriage dynamics changed and are still evolving to become relationships in which men do not feel threatened by a woman’s salary or brains. Marriage no longer means that men are in charge and women just follow them. There are many marriages where there is equality, where both the man and the woman take part in the decision making that a marriage entails. No, it does not happen in every marriage, but most marriages have evolved into some kind of relationship where both sides can speak and are heard. This didn’t happen years ago. African American households have really changed over the years and now women contribute to the household as much as their husbands do. Needless to say, much still needs to happen.
Women have to keep fighting, and with that fight they need to teach their daughters that there is nothing they can’t achieve if they stay focused on the prize. The glass ceiling is dented, not falling down broken. The military is becoming more accepting, and even though that’s a breakthrough I feel it will take years to make it the norm. Relationships are changing – some women are making more money than their husbands, and more men accept to be stay-at-home dads. We’ve made progress, and we have to be proud of it – just look where you as an individual have come from. There is nothing stopping the next generation of women, they will be able to go anywhere. We have changed the dynamics of being a woman, and the most remarkable aspect is that we have done it ourselves.
Retirement and Dogs 