Traditional gender roles are hurting men and women

Traditional gender roles are hurting men and womenTraditional gender roles are hurting men and womenDespite what many of us want to believe, the gender divide in ur culture remains very much alive.It stems, in part, from a stubborn cultural insistence that men and women play traditional - and inherently unequal - gender roles.The evidence exists everywhere. At home, women still carry much of the domestic and child-raising burden, in spite of the fact that studies showhaving both parents equally involved at home improves childrens well-being and school performance.Furthermore, despite recent policy initiatives designed to promote gender equality in the workplace, gender diversity among corporate leadership teams remains low - something thats often justified by the problematic reasoning that women arent qualified for leadership because theyre inherently too emotional or might become pregnant, two timeless staples of gender stereotyping.Personally, Ive witnessed this both in my caree r and at home.At home, my career initially took the backseat to my husbands because I had to be that stabilizing force for my family. And when I did go back into the workforce, I made less money and had to fight harder than my male counterparts to obtain the senior management and leadership roles I deserved.The difference welches so great that when I became a co-pastor at World Changers, I made combatting the gender divide a key priority.So, we know the gender divide exists. Its pervasive. But heres the thing its also seriously damaging - to both men andwomenThe evidence is clearBirth rate. According to Harvard University, Countries with high female labor force participation rates tend to have higher birth rates. (A birth rate of 2.1 is required for a country to replace its population. In the U.S., the fertility rate is currently at 1.9.)GDP. According to the IMF, the gender gap costs U.S. corporations millions of dollars every year closing it would raise U.S. GDP by 5%.Parenting. This one is easy. As I mentioned before, having both parents equally involved in a childs life makes for healthier, happier children. Also, when parents share the burden, they themselves are happier.The need for change is equally clear we must internalize, as a culture, the fact that gender does not exclusively qualify or disqualify someone from an opportunity.But lets remember gender inequality in the workplace and at home persists because, in many ways, its ingrained in urpsycheMeaning, its a tough problem to root out. For our ancestors, for example, inequality was sort of necessary. Men went out to hunt and bring home the food women watched the kids and prepared meals.But times havechangedMen and women are equals now. Both genders are both equally capable of bringing home the proverbial bacon and raising children. In fact, men and women complement each other. Side-by-side, we lead better together. We parent better together. We drive progress at companies more effectively together .To end gender inequality, companies, families, and institutions must make systemicchanges.As my team and I do at World Changers, executive teams must make it a priority to hire people solely based on skill and experience as opposed to qualifiers of any physical sort.As parents, we all must teach our children what sort of respect they should look for in a future spouse - namely, that they themselves believe in gender equality - as well as what kind of conditions they should demand of their employers. Personally, Im trying my best to raise my daughters to be confident and aware of their self-worth. Its helped me, even, having conversations with them and with other young women about fighting against that feeling of being ignored or overlooked.And thats another key factor of this fight individually, we can all seek to find our voice and demand, collectively, a better, more equitable world.Ultimately, equal gender roles benefit everyoneThe key to ultimate success in this battle for eq uality is focusing on the fact that a more equitable world at home and in the workplace benefits everyone - not just women.Going back to the stats I cited above, its clear that eliminating the gender divide would increase our national birth rate, increase our national GDP, and improve the lives of children across the country. And the reason is simple women and men truly do work better together. A more equitable workplace is more efficient and productive. A more equitable home is happier and healthier.Equality wont come about on its own, though. As Ive said, we have to work for it. As then-senator Barack Obama once said, We are the change that we seek.That change is within our grasp. We know the type of world we want. We know why and how the world would benefit from equalityNow its time to make it happen.This article was originally published on Medium.