Ina's Place

I was walking down the street today, thinking about my countless appointments these upcoming weeks. I was passing by a construction zone right on the road of the park my baby and I used to stroll in when she was only a couple months old, and I saw these men working nicely and well-coordinated. Then I saw this blond girl, young and pretty. She was wearing the same uniform as the men did, the same casket and same boots. She was so small and slender compared to the tall and strong Canadian men, yet, she was working at the construction just as equally. I realised that this is not the first time I see a woman on a construction site, but I got so used to seeing women working in male-dominated fields, that all of this seems so normal to me.

Then, this situation got me thinking of my birth-country. If a middle-aged man or woman would have seen that young lady working on a construction site, they would have gasped in disbelief and bewilderment. How is it possible for a woman to work in road construction? That’s crazy! Can she really do the job or somebody got her there and all she does is lounge around all day? Is she a slut? Does she have the strength to do this job? Is she normal? Why is she working with men? WTF is she doing, in general? Does she go all day long and flirt with those men? It’s actually outrageous to think that a young woman can work with a bunch of gross men, in road construction, and do a living out of it!

My head was pounding from trying to imagine how people in my country would have looked at all this, and I’m not talking only about the middle-age group, but all the other age groups too. So if you are one of the people who finds it wild to see a woman working in a male-dominated domain, keep on reading…

First of all, I live in Canada, one of the most tolerant countries in the world (sorry, USA, you do very shitty at this chapter, despite your so-called democracy and public policy). By tolerant, I mean gender equality, same-sex marriages, interracial acceptance, no age discrimination, mutual respect regarding religion, political views, and most of all, towards one’s personal life. People are so open here, that not a day goes by where you wouldn’t have conversations with complete strangers anywhere you go, where people stop to answer your questions even if it means that they will miss their bus or train, where drivers stuck in traffic nod at you “Hello” and smile only because they stopped right next to you, where policemen, firemen and ambulance drivers wave “Hello” and run their sirens for your child, so YES – we’re tolerant here.

Second of all, in Canada, there is absolutely no field closed up for women (remember the gender equality I talked about a little earlier?), unless you want to become a priest or be part of some kind of secret society, that most probably also has lots of women, but the last 2 are not even jobs as more as they are services. You see women working everywhere, and I mean it when I say EVERYWHERE! Women drive buses, trains, big trucks, they work in transportation services for the city hall or borough, they deliver mail, they do engineering and construction, aviation, IT, social works, they run companies, they work in kindergartens and schools, stores, roads, anything you can think of – and it’s fascinating! There is no such thing and “women don’t work here”. Women are engaged in every field and every aspect of this country’s development. I mean, look at the governing body, they’re made half of women! The other half is men, of course. J I think that there couldn’t be a better place for women to feel and be more empowered than here, in Canada. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t do advertising against or for one country or another, I just truly believe (and it’s my own opinion, you’re free to think otherwise) that women are able to do whatever they want here and it’s a very favorable place to accomplish your endeavors as a woman. Though, I also believe that a woman and a man should be able to be open-minded and creative enough to understand and follow such and empowerment and emancipation, because, let’s face it, women are still heavily stigmatized in most parts of the world. It takes wise and grounded people to accept gender equality, to promote and support independent women, to let them grow and become who they really want to be. I also believe that all this requires a supreme inner strength, an elevated self-awareness (which is opposite to total ignorance which I despise in [arrogant]people), a balanced mind and advanced thinking, but also – a kind of love for all human beings on earth.

The funniest thing right now is that I’m actually sitting in a Laundromat and am writing this article that I so much longed to write for a while J. And if this can’t be called empowerment (‘cause I’m a wife and a mom above all, you know, and heavy laundry still needs to be done before winter comes), then I don’t know what is. Cliché, right? But I don’t care, because I’m a woman, I think non-stop, I do all the work for my family, I meet with people that help me in my professional and psychological development, I find time to watch a movie or show everyday while planning my weeks, and I’m still standing tall on my feet.