Unspoken Agreement by Sofía López Lam

Throughout history the value of women has been underestimated, and although society has  evolved and is now able to recognize the importance of women, no longer considering them just  a “breeding machine”, the undeniable truth is that in Guatemala women are still belittled by our culture and by society itself. Sexism is an issue that deeply affects women and their life quality.  Consequently, it is our duty as citizens to create an environment where everyone is given equal  opportunities to achieve their greatness.  

Sexism is deeply ingrained in Guatemalan culture, it has become such a strong part of everyday  life making people so accustomed to it that they don’t even notice, going as far as to consider it  something “normal”. People choose to ignore the detrimental effect it has on society. Hence,  sexism is constantly justified saying, “They wouldn’t change” “It has always been like this”, or 

“This is Guatemala”. This line of thinking becomes the unspoken agreement that perpetuates sexism, arguing that it would be too difficult to achieve an ideological reset especially  considering the lack of access to education that many Guatemalans still have. The concept of  equality is strongly discouraged by a conservative society, where behavioral rules and norms  allow violence and aggressions towards women to be normalized. 

The unspoken agreement of sexism is everywhere. In the workplace, women are not taken  seriously for positions of value, because it is believed that a woman cannot perform a job as well  as a man or simply because they are women, they lack leadership abilities. Even when they obtain a promotion or have an important role, they are constantly dismissed by their co-workers and must endure negative comments about their performance. Not to mention the salary gap  between a man and a woman with the same position. In order to ensure that their workplace is a  safe place where women are respected and can further expand their career possibilities, there  must be fundamental changes. 

Companies can start by promoting and enforcing equality policies that assure same opportunities  for everyone. They should also offer intensive courses to identify and prevent unconscious bias against women. These measures will only be effective if everyone in the workplace is able to  compromise and use proactive language, along with objective criteria while evaluating their  performance. Women must speak up about their workplace situation and what can be improved to guarantee equality. In order to do this, they need to recognize the unspoken agreement that limits their career and salary growth.  

Because Guatemala is predominantly a conservative society, male’s education is prioritized while women are expected to take care of the house and raise the children. Due to the lack of  education, women have low-paid jobs and less financial independence. In marriage women are at  disadvantage and rely economically on their husbands. Their situation worsens as they have to  stand domestic violence and choose to stay with the abuser because they fear for their future. The  changes must start by providing girls with equal education opportunities as men are offered.  Parents must encourage their daughters to pursue a career and achieve financial stability, which  will later positively impact their own families. Education empowers women to achieve any goal,  making them confident and independent.  

In order to ensure that sexism ceases to be a mainstream ideological force in Guatemala there  must also be fundamental changes in the educational system. Schools must provide enough  resources so that all their students are able to explore their abilities and talents. Young girls are  negatively typecast as less smart, which discourages them from pursuing higher education. 

Therefore, teachers must empower young girls to pursue any career they want, they can reinforce  this by presenting female positive role models.  

Guatemalan society will only be able to improve if the unspoken agreement of sexism is  unveiled. This must become one of the top priorities for the country, as it affects everyone.  Women deserve a better change in life, not restrained by sexism. Only when women are treated  equally in the workplace, when their education is prioritized and young girls can develop their  potential to the maximum, then an ideological change will take place, and women will make  greater contributions to society.