Progressive Women

Our guest blogger Laura Nelson writes a blog, Delilah, where she campaigns for equality and tries to quash stereotypes. She is also the president of Camden Speakers Club, which is part of a national association that helps people develop skills for speaking in public, and she investigated the brain for her PhD.

The United Nations has just approved a new organisation, called ‘UN Women’, to promote women’s equality globally.

And not a moment too soon. A worldwide poll revealed last week that, although people in most countries believe that men and women should have equal rights, they acknowledge that, in reality, equality hasn’t been achieved.

In the poll, which was conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Global Attitudes Project, many people – especially in some of the wealthier nations surveyed – said that men have more opportunities than equally qualified women for jobs that pay well and that life is generally better for men than it is for women in their countries.

We live in a society, at least in the developed world, where laws for equality are broadly in place, but we’re not achieving it. Very few women run large organisations, business culture remains a boys’ club and large numbers of women are shouldering responsibilities at home and at work simultaneously.

So what’s at the heart of it? The reasons are complex and subtle and part of our culture. Since the beginning of time, men have been the dominant sex. Men have been the breadwinners, women have looked after the children, and it’s been acceptable for men to exert their power over women using violence. In many countries, this is still the case. In many others, the cultural elements are beginning to shift, but it’s a long and difficult journey.

One of the factors is the expectation – of society in general and of women themselves – of what women can achieve. Often, in a room full of people – say, in a meeting or a debate – it’s the men who speak first and the men who speak most. This is regardless of ability, knowledge or eloquence. Women have just as much to say, and their ideas and contributions are just as valuable. But they are not speaking up as much – and they are not being heard. Consequently, men assume more powerful positions and women are pushed into second place.

Of course, this is not the only factor, but it’s definitely one worth exploring. What are the reasons for the difference? From birth, boys and girls are bombarded with stereotypes; boys are allowed to be more aggressive and climb trees, for example, while girls are encouraged to be passive and play with plastic teapots. A commonly held view is that boys and girls are innately suited to these traditional roles. However, the scientific evidence for this is not substantial, comprehensive or conclusive enough, and there is more evidence that experience itself changes brain function (read articles by neuroscientist Lise Eliot and Professor of linguistics Deborah Cameron, for example, who discuss this evidence).

There are obvious differences between the sexes, but there is no scientific consensus that women are generally born with a natural tendency to empathise and that men are generally born with natural competitive streak and are better at solving logical problems. But if people believe these myths, is it any wonder that there are fewer girls than boys studying maths, fewer female politicians and more female carers? Stereotyping in itself has been shown to hinder people’s performance; for example, read about Professor of Psychology Claude Steele’s eye-opening work.

Some people argue that we should accept that men and women do different jobs, but they do not then acknowledge that carer jobs happen to be lower paid than engineers, for example, and typically ‘male’ jobs are held in far greater esteem by society than ‘female’ jobs.

A change in culture will be brought about only when these stereotypes, which block the progress of society and stops us benefiting from the potential talents of individuals, are crushed. Attitudes have to change everywhere – from the parents and teachers who must encourage young children to pursue a wider range of activities, to the media and population at large who must accept women as leaders without criticising them disproportionately to men. And attitudes have to change among women ourselves. Once we fundamentally believe we are as capable as men, our self-belief will take us a long way.

This blog was written by Caroline Watson, co-founder of Progressive Women for www.thedebate.uk.com

Last week I had the good fortune to spend the day at Wimbledon. As I was flicking through the newspapers I noticed a rather large proportion of pictures of scantily clad female tennis players. Where are the men in their boxers? Ok so I don’t think that’s really the answer. What I really want to know is why are such strong professional women quite often only seen when they play to a sexual ideal? There was also speculation about the women players being ‘bitchy’ and ‘competitive’ (they are professional sports people – aren’t they meant to be competitive??!). This is another dimension to the ongoing debate on how women are portrayed in the media. Previous blogs on the Progressive Women website have recognised the lack of press attention on female sports, and the link between sexiness and media attention for women in the sporting world (WAGs).

At our most recent event, the Secret Feminist Summer Party, one of the recurring questions from guests was on the theme of women in the media. Where are women over 40 on TV and in film? Our guests which included actresses in this age bracket spoke of how challenging it is to get work after 40 and how there are pretty much no roles available to them. Why aren’t the rest of us noticing this? And if we are why noticing this, why aren’t we doing something about it?

A recent survey of 500 British women over 60 by ICM for Stella – the telegraph magazine – found that 62% of women agreed that the media doesn’t accurately reflect the experiences of older people. Just under three quarters of those surveyed agreed that there should be more women over 60 on TV. If you want to do something pro-active you can sign the Petition for Equal Representation of Women in TV and Film Drama.

Another point raised at the Secret Feminist Summer Party was – where are the TV shows and films that offer strong roles to women and have strong female led casts? They are few and far between. Just look at the attention Sex and the City 2 got over the last couple of months. This to me confirms two points i. There is genuine demand for female led shows and films, ii. Female led shows and films are so few that when one does come along it is held up as a beacon of feminist ideal/betrayal because there is little else to compare it to.

On a positive note, I want to recognise the really exciting season of plays at the Tricycle Theatre, in London. “Then” and “Now” are two separate evenings of plays showing on Women in Politics. I went to see “Then” a few weeks ago and it was a fantastic cast (not all women) with strong and diverse characters and actors. The history of women in politics spanned from the dramatic iron rule of Queen Elizabeth I, the struggle of working class women in the era of the suffragettes, to a comedic but thought provoking account of the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Margaret Thatcher. This is interspersed with monologues from female MPs on how they won their seats and their experience in parliament. The Tricycle Theatre is also showing a ‘Women in Politics’ film season to complement the plays. This season demonstrates that there are some seriously exciting productions and topics to explore on stage and screen that so far have been underplayed. It also offers an opportunity to see the strong women roles we are thirsty for and to prove the demand is out there. Hopefully mainstream TV, cinema and theatres will follow suit.

Our guest blog today is from Judith Cherry, Head of Knowledge and Insight at Opportunity Now, BITC’s campaign to promote gender equality in the workplace.

Judith Cherry believes a flexible approach to work cultures gives tangible business advantage.

“The new government’s announcement that it will extend the right to request flexible working to all staff has made flexibility a hot business topic. We welcome this move to ensure flexibility is not just for parents and have always maintained that creating flexible working cultures is good news for organisations and employees alike.

I strongly disagree with those that argue that flexible working practices are a burden to business. In fact, I believe the opposite is true. In such challenging economic times, where salaries are being frozen, bonuses are vanishing, and spending needs to be dramatically reduced, flexible working can offer a way of keeping talented people engaged and motivated and offer a way of reducing overheads. It should be viewed through a lens of business success. Unfortunately there is often a resistance or a residual perception of flexible or part-time working as something which is an adjunct to business as usual, an irritation or an accommodation – the mummy track.

It is true that the majority of workplaces are still designed around a mid 20th century lifestyle, with an outdated approach to where, when and how work happens. Whilst more enlightened employers do position flexible working as a way to retain expertise, cut overheads and motivate staff. In these organisations it is accepted as a tool which will make their businesses more agile and responsive, not something which is begrudgingly implemented for the sake of mothers.

A great example of getting it right is the way that KPMG utilised flexible working to respond speedily to changes in market conditions whilst still maintaining the engagement of its people. It introduced a programme called Flexible Futures – a temporary, reduced working hours arrangement that was introduced in January 2009.

The objective was to manage the firm’s people costs in line with fluctuating and unpredictable business demands whilst retaining valuable talent.

In early 2009 all of its 11,000 people were asked to volunteer to accept a temporary change to their terms and conditions of employment. This temporary change to terms and conditions meant that the firm could ask volunteers at any time over the subsequent 18 months to reduce their working week by one day unpaid or take extended time off at 30% salary. Once people had signed up there was no guarantee that they would be asked to take leave as this would be dependent on the business needs of their unit. 85% of its people signed up overall and over the subsequent months around 500 people across the business were asked to take leave in line with the options they volunteered for. The scheme saved the organisation over £4 million and is a very good example of how flexible working can be used as a business solution.

The business imperative for creating more flexible work cultures revolves around leveraging a more diverse talent pool, the ability to flex over time and space, and the fact that it allows greater freedom to scale up and down as the business or business cycle requires. Greater agility allows companies to better organise their global 24/7 operations and build networks. Technology has allowed organisations to be more flexible and agile, now we need now is more organisational cultures to catch up.

‘Opportunity Now empowers employers to accelerate change for women in the workplace because it makes good business sense. It works with its membership of 350 employers, from the private, public and education sectors to offer tailored, practical and pragmatic advice on workplace issues. Opportunity Now is part of Business in the Community, a charity which mobilises business for good. Visit www.opportunitynow.org.uk to find out more.’