Listen, fighting the gender war often feels like a loveless slog. It is ok to admit that. I know how it goes.
You attend lunch and learns, and nothing really changes.
You join the women’s network, and nothing really changes.
You instigated Important Conversations in the office, and nothing really changes.
So how do you shift the bloody dial? Well, this newsletter comes laden with micro ways to make a difference; to assert yourself, and remind everyone in the room that women matter equally.
Come on, let’s go.
Disclaimer before I begin: it is categorically not the responsibility of women, (or any marginalised group, when I talk about women in this article I am also referring to people who identify as non-binary) to do the hard work of dismantling the structures of discrimination that hold us back.
But we do not live in a perfect world where responsibility or effort is evenly distributed, accepted or actioned.
Plus, those who feed the systems that prevent equity do not usually recognise their part in the problem. Not least because it generally serves them to retain the status quo.
Plus plus, that group (talking about genders here) isn’t necessarily known for its ability to see beyond its own existence, love many of them, as I do.
So, we find ourselves in a continuing quagmire and quandary. Not least because for all the extra burdens, I really do only trust women to get us out of this mess.
Side note, I read an article in yesterday’s The Times entitled, ‘Patients less likely to die if treated by a female doctor.’ Like, obviously and WTF in equal measure. That’s not even the most shocking part about it.
Read this quote:
While patients generally showed a benefit from having a female physician, the greatest difference was seen in female patients. This led the scientists from UCLA to suggest that the difference could be due to male doctors underestimating the severity of their female patients’ illnesses.
Ok, so where else *wonders* are men underestimating our experiences? And what about their general ability to get the day job done to a high enough level too?
If they can’t keep us alive, they sure as hell aren’t going to be able to do their part to help deliver us professional, nay societal, equity.
And so we must continue to slog, to fight, to trudge out of the quagmire together, because, can you trust the alternative?
And so I offer you, 10 Brilliant Girl Power Actions, to move that gender dial. Let’s get shit done - and have fun doing it.
Default To ‘She/Her’: If you are asked in a meeting to defer to a senior member of staff, or the CEO of a client, say, automatically assume that person is a woman. Refer to them immediately as a woman. As in ‘I can’t wait to hear what she thinks about the pitch,’ or ‘Please send me her details and I will absolutely be in touch.’ It’s a small but mighty shift that requires commitment but delivers an immediate flash of fairness.
Effort: *
Impact: *****
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