Introverts vs Extroverts.. why are they not valued the same?

I recently had an assignment for my college English class to write a compare/contrast essay. I decided to write it about introverts and extroverts. My purpose was to explore the similarities and differences between the two and to apply this to a larger issue. At first I just wrote the essay to write it. But then I started thinking, why do we not value introverts the same way as extroverts?

Short answer: because extroverts are the producers and go-getters. They are often the ones showing a product, closing a business deal, or arguing a point. We don’t see the planning and thinking that goes in behind it- which is often work of an introvert.

I posed the question: Who created Apple? I did this because we all know Steve Jobs, but not Steve Wozniak who ACTUALLY created Apple. Why is this? Because Steve Jobs is the face of Apple. He does all of the PR and selling of Apple products. Wozniak did the actual brainstorming and creating of Apple.

This made me think about how in most scenarios, this same thing happens. People don’t value introverts as much as extroverts because they do the thinking, which is internal.

My proposition was that we 1. stop forcing children to work collaboratively and 2. provide an environment in which introverts feel as welcomed as extroverts.

Will the opinion of one freshman-in-college-student matter? Probably not. But, it was an assignment, so I couldn’t NOT do it.

Thanks for reading!