How Mindfulness Can Bridge Gender-Gap

Why are women always at the backseat of the evolving society? Why do men get all the credit for building society? Questions like these always arise in our minds. But the most we do is argue about it rather than finding a bridge to meet the gap. Here is how mindfulness can bridge gender-gap:

Evolutionary, women are good at conservation because they deal with everything that is already in the house. They make do with what is present and how to utilize it at its best. Men on the other hand were taught to go out and hunt and exploit and the whole world is their oyster. They are not prone to thinking of limitations because they can see beyond the four walls of the house, unlike most women. 

Because women have been subjected to being in the background and that's all they see throughout their lives. They only get peeks from the curtains while men perform on stage. No one seems to care about what all efforts went into letting them be there as women don’t get their due credit for all the labour they do at home.

On the other hand, men who experience this vastness and are able to source from it without getting lost, absolutely love the outdoors. They have the drive, motivation, and hunger to achieve more and more of what they can see and beyond. 

Some men who feel lost and are not able to find a place in this vastness for themselves want to be backstage, but they experience a sense of failure and hence resent not only themselves but the whole world and often take their rage out on the women so as to have some sense of accomplishment or power. Submitting to the proof of the phrase ‘Patriarchy hurts both men and women’. 

Mindfulness Can Bridge Gender-Gap

This is why it is very important for each and every person regardless of their gender to experience both roles. To see the expansion, to experience the vastness of the world, and to learn the microsystems that function within a house. 

And in this age when both men and women are working together (trying to), we are learning. Learning what has never been taught to both. 

Women can see and learn, how to take on the world. Men can learn how to save the world by looking at these microsystems.  But the issue occurs when people who are so afraid of change, for whom this exploitation was working (of both world and women) start to feel fear. They can see the change this world is moving towards and can see their power being shared. These men resistant to change, do everything in their power to not let this happen. They tighten their reigns and lead the women behind them to start a war amongst our own kind, making women part of the problem too. 

Through all these systems (which are numerous, and this is just a perspective) the one thing that remains constant is our inherent sense of awareness. Yes, we are the product of our environment and sometimes don't realize we are the problem too. But I strongly believe each and every person has a collective conscience residing within them, which on introspection will lead them to what is kind, to what is fair and 'right'. 

This is why we need more systems and places where there is space to sit and introspect and be present. Change starts at home and the bare minimum that men can do is to listen to the experiences of the women in their life who are learning to operate in the world which wants them to go ‘Home’. If men are constantly fighting and performing on stage, they won't know where they are being part of the problem too, unless they take breaks, and reflect on what they are doing. And this is where mindfulness comes into play because it’s the moment before the reaction that determines what path we will be taking. Learning to pause at that moment and choose the healthier option, that is to react and respond so that your every action can help to bridge the gap between the experiences of women and men is the ultimate goal to work on. 

This sounds cliché and simple 

But 'Just Breathe' 

Holds so much power and significance that we don't even realize. 

Views expressed are the author's own. 

Kavneet Kaur is a Counselling Psychologist who has a private practice- your.nextdoortherapist

Suggested Reading: Where Does India Rank As Per Global Gender Gap Index 2022?