After the super week at our office, we decided to have lunch outside together as a reward for all the hard work and effort spent during last week. As the conversation went on, my colleagues started chatting on the equality in Finland and over the world, pointing out the reality in this country, which still has the inequality even though it was ranked 2nd as the ideal country for women to live in. Then after a while, they turned to me and asked what the situation is in Vietnam. I told them everything I know, be honest, confidently said that I hate the fact that the inequality is so strong and widespread in my hometown. They replied with the empathy on their faces, comments on how traditional Vietnam is, and maybe realized that there are even countries much worse than Finland in terms of treating women the right way.

Coincidentally, last night I also had kind of a friendly debate with my friend on this topic. We both agreed that women have been treated differently from men and deserve the equality more than ever. However, my friend stated that men also have to tolerate the high expectations of their societies when they are paid more and receive higher benefits. That piece of thought struck me and arouse another question on not only how we fight for women’s rights but also how to make the equality possible for both sexes.

Back to the lunch, one thing I loved while being an intern here is the opportunities to discuss about topics that really does matter, to be confident to share my thoughts on those without being judged. Now I realized why they say that the environment and people who you spend most of your time being around with affect you very much. And I love that I decided to be an intern here even without being paid, since I got a lot more in return, which is even much valued than money to me.

V.V

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