This post may make me a little unpopular…

2 comments Diversity/Bullying and Harassment

Mar 17

And I guess I start with that title because I know I’ve disagreed with women about this in the past, some of whom I have enjoyed the debate and still very much respect their opinions. I guess my first real experience with this was the crustgate scandal, where I said that we could probably move on from a joke about women being worse drivers than men.

It’s about feminism, so if that topic bores you to tears then maybe you might want to skip out on this post.

On the surface of it- I have nothing against feminism in itself if you take it in its very straightforward sense in that there should be equality for men and women (and please jump in and correct me on any of this because I do not profess to know the ins and outs of feminism). The fact that women were not allowed to drink in public bars and vote to me is ridiculous and no doubt you feel the very same way. Just as a side note, I think (and also hope) that future generations are just as embarrassed that gay people are not allowed to get married in so many places around the world including Australia. I’m embarrassed by it now if I’m perfectly honest.

Anyway, I digress.

The women in this video are amazing people and thank goodness they did what they did back then so that the world is a better place today. I agree that there are boys clubs and sexism still does exist but I guess I’m wondering if the message at the end is what we really want to be saying to young women.

The message to young women is, you might think you’re equal – but mate you’re not, you earn less; you earn less per hour; you earn less over your lifetime; you do a heap of unpaid work because someone’s gotta do it
You don’t run things – you don’t decide things – so don’t have the illusion you’ve got choice.

Eeeek! What a negative message.

I guess everyone’s opinions are shaped by their own life experiences. For me personally my parents divorced when I was in about Year 8 and following this, there were a lot of tough experiences. Through this though, one of the most valuable things my Mum every taught me was how to be strong, set your goals and work hard until you get it.

It was hard, but the rewards were fantastic. I represented NSW in Softball, I bought my first car at 16 with my own money, I was a trainee manager at McDonalds just before I turned 17 and scored 93 in my HSC. I got a Scholarship to University and have loved being in HR ever since.

The point is, my Mum taught me to be independent and I grew up believing that I could achieve anything I wanted. More specifically, I didn’t have to rely on a man to make anything happen for me. My sisters and I all know how to cook, but we also all mowed the lawns and looked after our own cars (I can’t quite change a tyre but everything else I’m ok with!).

In the video, they talk a lot about the fact that there ‘were a set of expectations’ around what women were going to be. I guess I’m just wondering whether messages like the one above is helpful, or whether we should be inspiring women to see that they can have anything they want in life if that’s the attitude they take.

I’d be interested in what you think, particularly if you are a blogger who blogged on International Women’s Day or even commented on a blog last week.

  • Tony

    I think it’s quite a balanced summary actually but I cam imagine how it may raise a few eyebrows!. Now, let me be upfront, I used to work for the Equality and Human Rights Commission in the UK, so I’ve given this issue a lot of thought, both as an HR practitioner and as an employee of that organisation. The research is compelling and the figures do speak for themselves, there is a massive gap in pay and opportunity in both the UK and Australia but that’s only part of the story. The other aspect your raise in your article is how some women orientate themselves around that gap, which I think is a really interesting aspect of inequality. I think women, and other minority groups for that matter, have two choices here. They can continue to bang the drum of disadvantage, or they can pick ourselves up and get on with it. Now, you might say that’s easy for me to say (by the way in the UK I’d be considered one of those minorities!) but my experience is that when people dwell on a deficit, whatever that deficit is, then their focus is in the wrong place to make a difference in closing the gap. I think we’ve all come across people who are stuck in that cycle of victimhood. In my view they will struggle to close the gap that they are concerned with as long as they are giving their attention to it in a negative way. Instead, it would be more productuve to acknowledge the challenges but to give attention to positive strategies (both personal and organisational) to get around them. I do think there is a place for legislation and legal protection but the real battle is in personal perception of employers and employees :-) How to we empower people to see the hurdles and jump them anyway?

  • http://www.hrclubsydney.com/ Jess Booth

    Thanks Tony. I’m not suggesting that there aren’t still problems that exist, I’m just challenging the approach of telling young women that they are not equal. I’m not sure that’s helpful. Perhaps we can learn more about why inequities exist and help young women work through those issues?