Equality – this is an important topic, especially when it is applied to men and women. In honor of Women’s History Month, The Bell staff sat down and discussed the differences in how men and women are portrayed in our society today. In recent times, news channels have displayed big headlines over movements such as #MeToo and the Women’s March, pressing the question: In media, are men and women equally represented?

When The Bell staff asked some teachers within the school about this issue, the answers varied. The most common answer out of all was no, men and women are not seen equally. Many called on the fact of how women are represented in the media and current politics. Even though last year’s midterms election had many women cheering for the new Congress makeup, there are still ways to go for women in legislative representation. One teacher mentioned when looking at Congress the majority of the ensemble are males and there were not as many women. Another teacher said as a society things are getting better, women have made a lot of progress through the years.

Even with an advancement of rights, women still have ways to go. Some staff members mentioned that in order to have a far more diverse environment and to have equal representation, there needs to be more representation of women in the media, workforce, government and schools. Even in the workforce women are still being challenged. Compared to men, women have to work harder to get to the same position as men. How do we solve this? By equal representation and influence in everything. When looking at which groups of people are spotlighted more in media, men ruled out women. Women are also seen as “bossy” when trying stand up for themselves while men are seen as strong leaders. This criticism isn’t just from men, but also women to other women. Today the music industry spotlights how women are tearing one another down with feuds rather than standing up for each other. To solve this, there needs to be more female influence from the media, the workforce and politics.

Others might argue that women and men are already seen equally. Women’s rights have made huge accomplishments from voting to equal pay, their right to privacy and so much more. Women are given the same platform of media like men. Women today are breaking records in music industry such as Taylor Swift who has won numerous Grammys in her career. Society is changing and compared to the past, women have made remarkable achievements and are getting to the top and have made a lasting influence. Big companies like Chanel and Esteé Lauder, created by women, are booming and thriving just like other profitable companies like Microsoft. Women are slowly getting there.

Overall, equal rights are important and everyone deserves them. Women today see they still have much more to accomplish to ensure they get equal representation.