An Equal Partnership

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An Equal Partnership

As we enter the 21st century, we are faced with a world which is totally different from the one previous generations have known. We are connected as we have never been before. Television can quickly inform us of events anywhere in the world. Thanks to the Internet, information on numerous topics is as far away as our personal computers.

The economic union between the European nations (European Union) and the North American nations (North American Free Trade Agreement) serves as a reminder that we live in a world where nations have agreed to cooperate in order to prosper. However, despite our technological and economic advances, we still face many major environmental problems, and poverty and homelessness in prosperous nations.

THE CASE FOR A PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT

I believe that living conditions in the world can only be improved if we have an equal partnership between men and women. Of course, men and women, on a daily basis, work together to provide the numerous services required for the smooth running of our society. Since time immemorial, they have cared together for their families. However, what I am proposing is an equal partnership at the highest levels of our political and corporate spheres.

Before I elaborate on this last statement, let me explain what I mean by a partnership agreement. I am not saying that Western women should approach their male leaders and ask for an equal role in governing their respective countries and running the corporations which provide the services our society requires. This has been tried before and it didn’t work. Indeed, if we think about it for a moment, it will never work. Nobody relinquishes the power they possess unless forced to do so. Women make up half of the population. They should be able to control their political and economic destinies. When the time comes, an agreement can be entered into with the cooperation of our male leaders, or against their will.

Why do I believe that the above mentioned agreement can help us resolve our problems? Before I answer this question, let me turn to biology for a moment.

One of the most striking features of ****** reproduction is that two individuals, the parents, contribute to the formation of the offspring. Each parent will bring his or her own characteristics (genes), and the offspring will possess new combinations of characteristics.[i][i] Put another way, the offspring has most of the characteristics of his parents, but is otherwise a new individual. This technique allows for the infinite variety of individuals and permits the building of a human society with all the varied talents necessary to keep it going.

I submit that this technique, which requires the cooperation of both the male and female of our species, is paralleled by another, and unrelated, technique. I surmise that God has created males and females differently not only on the physical level, to provide us with the above mentioned multiplicity of talents, but also on the mind level. Why else would men and women often think, and approach problems, in a different way? Why else do they sometimes drive each other to distraction when they try to reconcile points of views which are otherwise irreconcilable because they are gender-driven? God did not create us different to annoy us! There is a good reason for that. We are different because we need to complement each other. Above all, we need to augment each other in the way we govern ourselves. We have not done this throughout our 5,000 years of history. How, in my opinion, do men and women serve to complete each other?

For the purpose of this article, I have coined the term complementary qualities. What are complementary qualities? Complementary qualities are traits that are more pronounced in women than they are in men. For example, if I say that women possess the complementary quality of compassion, I mean that women are more compassionate than men. I am certainly not saying that men are not compassionate, nor am I stating that all women are compassionate. There are women who totally lack warmth and understanding.

Do men possess complementary qualities? Of course, they do! It works both ways. The complementary qualities of men will not, however, be mentioned in this article. In my view, they need to be observed and described by a woman (or women). For me (a man) to do so would be a difficult task. Moreover, this is an unnecessary exercise. Men are already in government, and society is already benefiting from their complementary traits. The issue at hand now is to have society benefit from the complementary qualities of both men and women.

COMPLEMENTARY QUALITIES

Intuition

Many women have that uncanny ability to look at the facts, apply their intelligence and judgment and say, “Call it feminine intuition if you wish, but I think we are going in the wrong direction.”

Connection

Over the years, there is nothing that has amazed me more than the ease with which women can connect with each other. Two women waiting at a bus stop will, if the wait is long enough, engage in conversation and exchange first some banalities, then some facts about their lives. To the casual onlooker, they would appear to be lifelong friends. Such a quality is invaluable in the world of business, and government and may reduce the number of intractable problems that are forever discussed - and rarely resolved - between our male leaders.

Logic

This is not really a quality which is more pronounced in women than it is in men. The logic of a woman simply differs from that of a man.

The logic of men is to consider that the shortest distance between point A and point B is a straight line. Real life is not like geometry. When you deal with the complexities of human nature and the unpredictability of life’s events, the shortest route may not be the best. Women understood that a long time ago. They take the linear approach if it is adequate. More often than not, they accept the fact that life forces them to take a detour.

Power of observation

That which sets apart a superstar from other ballplayers, besides his dazzling moves and endurance, is his ability to know at any given moment where all other players are, so that when the opposing team makes a mistake, he knows how to take advantage of the error committed. Because of the need to always know what is going on around them, women have developed a strong power of observation. In our modern cities, women are often victims of crime. A shady character, or a subtle change in a neighborhood, is generally observed by a woman long before a man is aware of it.

The power of observation of a woman can, together with other qualities, make her a superstar in the worlds of business and politics.

Less violent

There is no doubt that women are much less violent than men. Statistics Canada reports that in 1998, adult women aged 18 and over made up 18% of all adults charged with a criminal offense. In 1997-98, only 5% of all persons sentenced to federal penitentiaries were women; and 9% of all persons sentenced to provincial/territorial prisons were women. In the U.S., in 1998, only 22% of the persons arrested for an offense were women.

We need women to introduce gentleness and civility in our business and political worlds.

Conclusion

It is a known fact that we should never attempt to affect changes before the time is right. Before a person is promoted to a position with higher responsibilities, the question is bound to come up: “Is she ready to assume those tasks?”

In my opinion, the women in the West are ready. During the past 20 years, they have made immense strides. In the area of education, there are more young women than young men in Canadian universities (according to Statistics Canada, in 1997-98, 55% of all full-time university students were female[ii][ii]). In the U.S., in 1994, in the age group 25 to 34, 87.5% of women completed their secondary education (men 85.2%); 23.5% of women completed their higher education (men 23.4%).[iii][iii] Women have penetrated practically every profession and men have accepted the fact that they are here to stay. Many women have established successful businesses. Women enjoy a financial independence which was unheard of 20 years ago. Many have stable and good jobs. Today, women can be found in Congress, on Municipal Councils and as governors and mayors. Women are also part of the management teams and boards of directors of big corporations. Finally, the numerous feminist groups, serving different purposes, reflect a new woman who is ready to fight for what she believes in.

While I firmly believe that women should begin to seek more political and economic power, the question of how far and how fast we go, at the present time, is very much an open question.

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REFERENCES

[i] The Reader’s Digest [Montreal], Points to Ponder, January 2000, p. 48B. Source: The Revolutionist’s Handbook (Penguin), quote of George Bernard Shaw.

[ii] United Nations Development Programme, Human Development Report 2000 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000), pp. 157, 269.

See also the same report for previous years:

1994, p. 129.

1995, p. 155.

1996, p. 135.

1997, p. 146.

1998, p. 128.

1999, p. 134.

[iii] Thomas O’Reilly-Fleming, Down and Out in Canada: Homeless Canadians (Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press Inc., 1993), pp. 4, 11, 12, 15, 182.

[iv] John W. Kimball, Biology (Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1974), p. 334.

[v] Statistics Canada, Women in Canada, 2000, A Gender-Based Statistical Report, Target Groups Project (Ottawa: Minister of Industry, fourth edition, September 2000), pp. 172, 176.

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