From Boardroom to Butcher Shop, Women Discuss Gender Inequality
Yolaina Chavez Talavera, 31, a firefighter, poses for a photograph in front of a truck at a fire station in Managua, Nicaragua, Feb. 22, 2017. "In my early days as a female firefighter, men, my teammates, thought that I would not last long in the organization due to the hard training," she said. "However, in practice I showed them that I am able to take on tasks at the same level as men. I think women must fight to break through in all areas, in the midst of the machismo that still persists in Nicaragua and in Hispanic countries."
LONDON —
Wednesday March 8 marks International Women's Day, with festivals, concerts and exhibitions among the numerous events planned around the world to celebrate the achievements of women in society.
The annual event has been held since the early 1900s and traditionally promotes a different theme each year, with this year's edition calling on people to #BeBoldForChange and push for a more gender-inclusive working world.
Reuters photographers have been speaking with women in a range of professions around the world about their experiences of gender inequality.
Here are just a few of the women and their comments:
Doris Leuthard, Switzerland
Swiss President and Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Doris Leuthard, 54, poses for a photograph on top of a roof next the Swiss Parliament in Bern, Switzerland, Feb. 24, 2017.
Doris Leuthard says she still sees gender inequality occur in the workplace.
"Salaries. The differences between wages of men and women can be up to 20 percent. It happens to many women. Transparency helps, discussions about salaries are important. In upper management and leading positions in politics we still seem to be the minority. I encourage women to work on their career," she said.
Cristina Alvarez, Mexico
Cristina Alvarez, 29, a butcher, poses for a photograph while standing outside her and her husband's butcher shop, in Mexico City, Mexico, Feb. 25, 2017.
"I've never felt any gender inequality," Alvarez said.
"I believe women can do the same jobs as men and that there should be no discrimination."
Serpil Cigdem, Turkey
Serpil Cigdem, 44, an engine driver, poses for a photograph at Yenikapi station in Istanbul, Turkey, Feb. 24, 2017.
"When I applied for a job 23 years ago as an engine driver, I was told that it is a profession for men. I knew that during the written examination even if I got the same results with a male candidate, he would have been chosen. That's why I worked hard to pass the exam with a very good result ahead of the male candidates," Cigdem said.
"In my opinion, gender inequality starts in our minds saying it's a male profession or it's a man's job," she said.
Phung Thi Hai, Vietnam
Phung Thi Hai, 54, carries bricks at a factory outside Hanoi, Vietnam, Feb. 27, 2017.
Hai is among a group of 25 women working at a brick factory where she has to move 3,000 bricks a day to the kiln.
"How unfair that a 54-year-old woman like me has to work and take care of the whole family. With the same work male laborers can get a better income. Not only me, all women in the village work very hard with no education, no insurance and no future," she said.
Tomoe Ichino, Japan
Shinto priest Tomoe Ichino, 40, poses for a photograph at the Imado Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, Feb. 22, 2017.
"In general, people think being a Shinto priest is a man's profession. If you're a woman, they think you're a shrine maiden, or a supplementary priestess. People don't know women Shinto priests exist, so they think we can't perform rituals. Once, after I finished performing jiichinsai [ground-breaking ceremony], I was asked, 'So, when is the priest coming?,'" Ichino said.
"When I first began working as a Shinto priest, because I was young and female, some people felt the blessing was different. They thought: 'I would have preferred your grandfather.'"
"At first, I wore my grandfather's light green garment because I thought it's better to look like a man. But after a while I decided to be proud of the fact that I am a female priest and I began wearing a pink robe, like today. I thought I can be more confident if I stop thinking too much [about my gender]."
Yanis Reina, Venezuela
Yanis Reina, 30, a gas station attendant, poses for a photograph at a gas station in Caracas, Venezuela, Feb. 24, 2017.
"No doubt this is a job initially intended for men, because you have to be standing on the street all your shift, it is dirty, greasy and there is always a strong gasoline smell. I have to adapt the pants of my uniform because they are men's and make me look weird but I adore my work. My clients are like my relatives, they come here everyday and we chat a couple of minutes while the tank is being filled. They come every day because they feel safer to be served by a woman," Reina said.
"With the difficult situation that we have in Venezuela, having a job that covers your expenses is almost a luxury, but beyond that, I'm very proud of my job. I believe that now we, the women, have to be the warriors," she said.
Januka Shrestha, Nepal
Januka Shrestha, 25, a Tuk Tuk driver, poses for a picture in Kathmandu, Nepal, Feb. 26, 2017.
"There is no difference in a vehicle driven by a woman and man. While driving on the road people sometimes try to dominate a vehicle especially when they see a woman driving it," she said.
"People have even used foul language toward me. When this happens I keep quiet and work even harder to prove that we are as capable as men," Shrestha said.
Maxine Mallett, Britain
Maxine Mallett, 52, a headteacher at Rutherford House School, poses for a photograph at the school's playground in south London, Britain, Feb. 22, 2017.
"The most stressful time of my career was when I had children. Women who return to work after having a child are sometimes treated with suspicion, as if they now lack commitment to the school when it is quite the opposite," Mallett said.
"We need to remove barriers and support all. Having a fulfilling career should not have to be a battle that you have to constantly fight."
Jeung Un, South Korea
Jeung Un, 27, a freelance photographer, poses for a portrait at a site which protesters have occupied, in central Seoul, South Korea, Feb. 23, 2017.
"Most news outlets prefer to employ male photographers. I feel strongly about gender inequality," Un said.
"When I cover violent scenes, sometimes I am harassed and hear sexually-biased remarks."
Deng Qiyan, China
Deng Qiyan, 47, a mother of three and a decoration worker at contraction sites, poses for a photograph at an apartment building under construction in Beijing, China, Feb. 22, 2017.
"But we cannot do anything about that. After all, you have to digest all those unhappy things and carry on."
Emilie Jeannin, France
Emilie Jeannin, 37, a cow breeder, poses for a photograph with her Charolais cows in Beurizot, France, Feb. 21, 2017.
"Once I could not help laughing when an agricultural advisor asked me, where the boss was, when I was standing right in front of him. I can assure you that the meeting got very quickly cut short!," Jeannin said.
"Being a breeder is seen as a man's job. In the past women were usually doing the administrative work or low level tasks. People need to be more open-minded. This change needs to happen everywhere not just on the fields."
Meet more of the women in our photo gallery:
World's Working Women Discuss Gender Inequality
1/16Filipina Grace Ocol, 40, a backhoe operator, poses for a photograph in Tubay, Agusan del Sur, southern Philippines, Feb. 16, 2017. Ocol, a mother of three, said, "There are a few female workers that can drive big trucks and backhoe. If men can do it, why can't women do it? I'm better than the men, they can only drive trucks here but I can drive both."
2/16Ram, 46, poses for a photograph at her stall at the flower market in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 26, 2017. "In this market men do the hard jobs, they carry heavy things, load trucks," said Ram.
3/16Valerie Perron, 53, an oyster farmer, poses for a photograph on her boat in Andernos, Southwestern France, Feb. 17, 2017. "It must not be forgotten that it is women, moms, who raise the boys. It is therefore up to us to change the mentalities by raising the boys at their youngest age, in a spirit of parity and equality with the woman. We must change the mentalities of early childhood education. A boy can play with dolls and a little girl with small cars," Perron said.
4/16Merylee, 26, a soldier, poses for a photograph in Nice, France, Feb. 23, 2017. " The parity in the army already exists, it is the uniform that takes precedence over gender," Merylee said.
5/16Christine Akoth, 38, a metal painter, poses for a photograph in Kenya's capital Nairobi, Feb. 27, 2017. "I have experienced gender bias at my work where sometimes I'm denied contracts because of who I am and maybe my marital status. Some female colleagues have been treated unfairly because of their sex and even exploited," Akoth said.
6/16Tara McCannel, 44, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is photographed in in Los Angeles, California, Feb. 27, 2017. "Women are held to a higher standard in knowledge, in abilities, in how the clinical practices go, in appearance," McCannel said. "Women just can't be themselves or just think: 'Oh I'm just going to do my work,' and focus on the job. There are these other things that need to be considered because it's not completely equal even though things are getting better."
7/16Chrifa Nimri, 69, a fisherwoman, arranges a net after returning from fishing at the seaport Sidi Bou Said, in Tunis, Tunisia, Feb. 23, 2017. "At the beginning of my fishing career all the world told me that the trade was for men but now all my colleagues respect and call me captain," Chrifa said.
8/16Elizabeth Mamani, 36, a reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building in La Paz, Bolivia, Feb. 22, 2017. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination [from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events]. To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," Mamani said.
9/16Ivana, 32, a community manager, smiles in her home where she works in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 21, 2017. "Mainly you can see these [gender] gaps in state companies, which are relics of socialism. It is that standard belief where women are 'the best' at being secretaries," Ivana said.
10/16Ana Maria del Verdun Suarez, 27, a police officer, poses for a photograph in the outskirts of Montevideo City, Uruguay, Feb. 23, 2017. "More women should be able to have jobs that traditionally were considered only for men. I believe that discrimination comes sometimes from all of us, it comes from the inside. There are already many professions that were exclusively male and are now performed by women," Suarez said.
11/16Cilene Connolly, 32, a Royal Mail postwoman, poses for a portrait during her postal round on a residential street in Coventry, Britain, Feb. 24, 2017. "Fortunately, I haven't been faced with gender inequalities in my role as a postwoman," Connolly said. "I've had a great response from my customers for being a female delivering their post, women in particular are always pleasantly surprised to see a female face."
12/16Liz Azoulay, 26, who loads and unloads cargo at Ashdod port, poses for a photograph at the port, in Ashdod, southern Israel, Feb. 22, 2017. "In most of my professional life I did not face any inequality. In the port of Ashdod we are equal on the docks. I am the first woman who began working at the Ashdod port as a stevedore."
13/16Raquel Gomez Delgado, 43, a marine fishing inspector, poses on board a fishing boat at Punta del Moral port in Huelva, Spain, Feb. 22, 2017. "In my opinion the only way to end gender inequality is through education in schools and bringing us examples of equality [in the media]," Delgado said.
14/16Samah Abdelaty, 38, a writer and chief of the investigations department at Al Watan Newspaper, poses for a photograph at the headquarters of the newspaper in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 26, 2017. "On the issue of gender equality in my field I do not remember any discrimination against me working in the field of journalism," Abdelaty said.
15/16Julia Argunova, 36, a mountaineering instructor, poses at 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level in the Tien Shan mountains near Almaty, Kazakhstan, Feb. 17, 2017. "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professional task is to teach safe mountaineering."
16/16Paloma Granero, 38, a skydiving instructor, poses for a photograph inside the wind tunnel at Windobona indoor skydiving in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 24, 2017. "Men don't have to prove themselves like we do. We are tested every day," Granero said. "The instruction jobs still go mostly to men, whereas the administrative jobs go mostly to women."
Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.
![Elizabeth Mamani, 36, a reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building in La Paz, Bolivia, Feb. 22, 2017. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination [from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events]. To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," Mamani said.](https://gdb.voanews.com/c0c498f2-65b2-4dd1-a18b-dbdd2886bc0c_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
![Ivana, 32, a community manager, smiles in her home where she works in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 21, 2017. "Mainly you can see these [gender] gaps in state companies, which are relics of socialism. It is that standard belief where women are 'the best' at being secretaries," Ivana said.](https://gdb.voanews.com/516f5cb4-34da-43ff-bfbd-5eec7cf9989e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
![Raquel Gomez Delgado, 43, a marine fishing inspector, poses on board a fishing boat at Punta del Moral port in Huelva, Spain, Feb. 22, 2017. "In my opinion the only way to end gender inequality is through education in schools and bringing us examples of equality [in the media]," Delgado said.](https://gdb.voanews.com/db139c0e-fc3d-48a7-a038-fdd67f04e490_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
