Andriana BoyrikovaThe International Women’s Day is over, and so are all inspiring social media posts, and I want to ask you: what are you going to do from now on to support gender equality? To help you with the answer, I have compiled a list with four easy ways how you and I can create a ripple effect with small acts done on a daily basis.
The ideas I am sharing in this article are my personal views based on my life experiences and what I have learned from my self-education in gender equality, backed up with statistics from authoritative sources.
But, first of all, what is gender equality?
Women and men aren’t identical, on the contrary, they are very different. Gender equality isn’t about being identical. Gender equality is about holding everyone to the same standards and ensuring equal rights to everyone.
Four ways to support gender equality
1. Teach gender equality at home1
I believe teaching respect and gender equality needs to start at home by raising your son(s) to respect and treat women as equal – not inferior – and your daughter(s) to be kind and supportive to other women.
Moreover, teach your daughter(s) their worth. Teach them that they are more than their appearances: praise them for their intelligence, strength, athleticism, and creativity. Build their confidence and give them role models that expand their dreams and aspirations: they can be scientists, astronauts, leaders, entrepreneurs, anything they want.
If you share a home, it is the most normal thing to share the housework responsibilities 50/50.
This is much fairer than expecting one person – the woman – to do all cooking, cleaning, groceries, and childcare. If it is always the woman who does most of this unpaid work, she wastes time she can invest in career, education, and personal development.
I often hear women say: “Once in a while he [husband/boyfriend] helps me with the children or with cooking.” This wording always touches a nerve in me: why helping? Ins’t this what he is supposed to do? By dividing all household chores, you also give a good example to young boys and girls: they see and learn gender equality at home.
2. Call out domestic violence and abuse
The United Nations has found that “globally one in three women experiences either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence in her lifetime, with most violence against women perpetrated by a current or former intimate partner.” This type of violence is not restricted to physical aggression. Verbal attacks (curses and threats) and psychological abuse (controlling and manipulative and intimidating behavior) all fall under this category.
It is difficult to know if a relative, a friend, a neighbor, or a colleague is experiencing domestic violence and abuse. However, you can look for some of these signals:
- bruises and injuries that occur frequently in obvious places
- a normally outgoing woman becomes quiet and shy around her partner and is agreeing with him all the time
- she is overly anxious to please her partner
- she refers to her partner as “moody” or “bad-tempered”, “jealous” or “possessive,” or always accusing her of having affairs
- a woman has limited access to a phone; often makes excuses that she can’t see you or insists that her partner has to come along; asks permission to go anywhere or to meet and socialize with other people; doesn’t seem to be able to make decisions about spending money; isn’t allowed to drive or get a job.
- she gets constant calls or texts by her partner wanting to know where she is, what she is doing, and who she is with.
If you recognize any of these signs, you can do a lot to help the woman who is going through that. Sometimes just reaching out and letting her know that you are there for her can already make a difference.
- Let her know that you believe her, that she isn’t alone, that she doesn’t deserve this, and that together you can find help. However, never promise any help that you can’t follow through with.
- Be patient and wait until she opens up: listen to her without pressuring her to recount the abuse in detail or make decisions that she is unsure about.
- If she shares she has suffered physical harm, offer to take her to a hospital or to see her GP.
- Help her create a safety plan that she can put into action if violence occurs again or if she decides to leave the situation.
- Be ready to help her find support and resources: phone numbers for shelters, social services, counselors, or support groups. Here are a few online sources that might be helpful: Womenshealth.gov; Womensaid.org; Thehotline.org; Nationaldahelpline.org; Rijksoverheid.nl; Veiligthuis.nl; Amsterdam-mamas.nl; Slachtofferhulp.nl.
3. Recognize and counter harassment
The first step to countering harassment is recognizing when it happens.
Harassment can take many different forms but at its core it is behaving in a way that makes someone feel distressed, humiliated, or threatened. The perpetrator can be someone you know – a colleague, a boss, a neighbor – or a complete stranger, for example, someone on the train.
Examples of harassment include:
- spreading rumors, offensive jokes, insults on appearance, race, sexual orientation, religion
- staring, winking, gestures with fingers
- unwanted advances, unwanted touching, persistent sexual proposals
- unwelcome sexual demand in exchange for better pay, promotion, or not getting fired
- unwanted lewd phone calls, letters, or emails
- stalking.
If you witness harassment on the street, in public transport, at university, or at the workplace, speak up and stand up for the victim of harassment, don’t pretend you haven’t seen or heard anything. Get the help of others if you feel unsafe doing so.
In addition, you can become mindful of your own language and start calling out any inappropriate comments that demean women or reinforce stereotypical notions such as “A woman should know her place,” “Stop getting emotional,” “She was asking for it,” “She is too bossy,” “When will you start a family?” “It is her time of the month,” “Act like a lady.”
As an employer, you can prevent harassment by informing employees that harassment is prohibited; making employees feel safe to discuss harassment questions or concerns; and responding to harassment concerns by investigating them immediately.
4. Demand equality at the workplace
Globally, for every dollar a man receives, a woman earns an average of 84 cents. For women of color, immigrant women, and women with children, the difference is even greater. As an employer, you have an abundance of opportunities to remove pay disparities among men and women and promote a culture of equality. The only question is: do you want to do it?
A few days ago I read a story on LinkedIn by a female developer who didn’t get invited to a job interview even though she had an impressive resume. Then she changed her name to a male’s one and submitted the exact same resume, and the company invited her to an interview.
I am not saying we must have a 50:50 balance of men and women in every single profession. The point is that we must never exclude a woman because she is a woman. One way to achieve that is by removing names and photos from resumes early in the selection process: applicants can provide only initials. That way, you won’t let your own biases select who to invite to an interview.
The higher up the corporate ladder, the fewer women.
Did you know that only 37 of the companies on 2020’s Fortune 500 are led by female CEOs? According to McKinsey’s survey, for every 100 men promoted to managers, only 85 women were promoted, and this gap was even larger for black women (58) and Latinas (71).
What’s more, a 2020 report by Mercer of over 1,100 organizations across the world found that whereas women hold 47% of support stuff roles, they take only 23% of executive positions. If you are an employer, chances are you already have women in your team, so why not provide them with resources to get in leadership roles? You can change the status quo if you require that all important meetings include 30-50% women. Also, you can encourage women’s advancement by offering benefits like onsite childcare, flexible work arrangements, leadership training programs, resource groups, and mentors.
Conclusion
We can promote gender equality in daily life if we start to pay attention to our actions, words, and biases. Small acts done on a daily basis can have a huge positive impact. What you as an individual can do to support gender equality is:
- teach gender equality at home
- call out domestic violence and abuse
- recognize and counter harassment
- demand equality at the workplace.
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Note 1. When I use the word “women”, I refer to women from any ethnicity, religion, background, and gender, thus not excluding members of the LGBTQ community.
Featured image : Tim Mossholder.
