Valentine’s Day and the Amazon women warriors
By Dr. Selim Erhan, TLT Editor | TLT From the Editor March 2024
We can learn about gender equality and working together from ancient civilizations.
By the time you read this article, Valentine’s Day will have passed with hopefully great memories. However, most of us want our feelings to continue every day. Every day is a new day that brings opportunities to grow and make life better for our partnerships.
This is where I will switch to the business side and talk about an interesting phenomenon, gender equality. It is a very important issue in the business world, in manufacturing, education, research and every aspect of society that we can imagine. People that feel discriminated against get irritated and upset and cannot perform with their optimum performance. We try to harness molecular interactions for lubrication, improve techniques to monitor fl uids and machine condition monitoring so we can benefi t from longevity and lower environmental impact. We are involved in artifi cial intelligence (AI) technology that helps us in many areas, such as looking at lubricant life, advanced lubricity studies and combining very complex factors. But there are many more applications, some in metalworking, making tires, aerospace, drilling vertical and horizontal for miles and even through the seabed. In other words, we are looking at very advanced technologies where ideas, experiences and testing all help each other to come up with solutions and then better solutions. There is no gender in thinking about solutions, no gender in molecular structure or lateral forces or increasing heat or many high-level issues. So why is there gender inequality in society while both men and women are working on these solutions? Why is there still inequality in advancement of careers or salaries?
Men and women physically function differently and even have different thinking patterns. But to anyone who looks carefully, these differences are not there to compete but to compliment and to work synergistically. Underneath the physical shells are minds and behavior that we defi ne as human. Men, women and children all have their place in humanity to the point where they are not men or women or children but functioning in much needed roles. This is not a new practice. There are bits and pieces of information from history showing women in equal and powerful positions and actively participating in all matters of the societies they lived in.
For example, 4,000 years ago, Egyptian queens would cosign agreements and participate in government decisions. Similarly, at the same time in the Hittites, not only did the queen sign together with the king, but agreements were not valid if the queen’s signature was missing. In Sumerian culture, 5,000 years ago, men and women worked together. Women would run inns, restaurants and hotels while men would engage in business further away. This way family life was preserved, and family income and the education of children were secured. There were even times when one spouse would help the other even from very far away. In one tablet a father wrote to his son, asking him to do his homework before he went out to play and not upset his mother! Travel took months or years. Letters were carried by postmen who delivered tablets by running, sucking on honey for energy and using asphalt to prevent their feet from getting scratched. Any means available was utilized to have a harmonious partnership for win-win solutions.
There were even extreme cases where men and women fought together. In Turcic tribes going back possibly 5,000 years ago, men and women were equally trained in riding and shooting with bows from horseback. Archery and horseback riding was the high technology of that time. Powerful bows, sharp shooters and excellent riders could overcome even the largest armies on foot, and it did not matter if the shooter was a man or woman. There were even times, such as in the Amazon women tribes, where the whole society was comprised of women and, when necessary, would go to war against armies of men, and win!
Fast forwarding to recent history, I watched the movie The Patriot where Mel Gibson and a whole set of excellent actors and actresses portrayed how men, women and children worked together in the American Revolution. Everyone did what they were good at, and the combined effort resulted in the birth of a powerful nation.
Looking at all these examples, I sometimes wonder if we have progressed that much or in some ways went backward. If we are going backward, it is a very sad loss! To reject the offer of help from someone very capable, very intelligent and wanting to help, and worse to insult intelligence, is really beyond a big mistake! I am very happy working with such wonderful, intelligent women. A recent example was one that made my life so much easier. We have a big lawn, and most of it is hilly with a difficult to reach flat area down the hill. I don’t have a riding mower on purpose, partly because the terrain is too hilly and partly because I can exercise while using my push mower. About eight months ago, the woman of the family living across that difficult to reach area mentioned that she had just given birth and wanted some activity, and that she had a riding mower and would happily mow that area for me. This was a great help to me due to my frequent travels. I happily agreed, and in return I brought her flowers—now we have a wonderful partnership. I am still the same man but much happier with more time on my hands to take care of my to-do list. Thus, life gets better and better!
Dr. Selim Erhan is director of business development for Process Oils Inc. in Trout Valley, Ill. You can reach him at serhan@processoilsinc.com.