FORGET FLOWERS; WOMEN DEMAND EQUALITY

Yesterday was International Women’s Day where countries all over the world celebrate women's rights. Being female makes me by default pro-female. I love being female. Yet, whenever women advocate for women's rights, we get labeled a "Feminist" with a negative meaning. We women should be proud of our sex. Our grandmothers fought for progress yet our battles are far from over. Women are NOT men. We don't need nor want everything exactly the same. Women work differently. Women deal with pregnancies. Women often care give for their parents too. Treating women equally means giving them a seat at the table and respect. Most importantly, women need to feel safe, valued, and supported.

“You don’t have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.” ~ Jane Galvin Lewis

GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES

Photo by Ethan McArthur on Unsplash

1/ Female Sex Trafficking

According to a U.S. State Report in June 2019 (1), four million women are still estimated sex trafficked, and from that, one million are female children. Runaways and foster children are particularly high at risk. These victims are among us so learn the signs to recognize them and report them here.

2/ Female Child Brides

According to UNICEF's June 2019 report (2), twelve million girls are married before they turn eighteen every year, and, and in the developing world, one in nine girls is married before they turn fifteen. Around the world, 650 million girls and women alive today were married before they were eighteen. In many U.S. states, it is still legal to get married with parental consent under eighteen in all states except New Jersey and Delaware. In Massachusetts a girl can marry at age twelve. Find out what you can do to help stop this practice here.

3/ Crimes Against Women

The UN estimates that around 35% of women world-wide have experienced physical or sexual abuse at some point in their lives (3). If you or a woman you know in the United States experiences domestic violence, here is the number to call. If you want to get involved or support this cause internationally, you can learn more about the UN Women.

4/ Limited Access to Education for Women

According to UNESCO, there are an estimated 130 million girls between the ages of 6 and 17 out of school (4). 15 million primary school-aged girls will likely never enter a classroom in their lifetime. Luckily, there are several non-profit organizations for girls’ education internationally like Malala Yousafzai, CARE, CAMFED, WOMENONE, and The Global Partnership for Education. Instead of letting another Woman's Day go by with a few congratulations and maybe some flowers, why not give the bigger gift of donating to one of these noble nonprofits or ask the men in your life or your employer to show support for women this way?

"You educate a man; you educate a man. You educate a woman; you educate a generation" ~Brigham Young

5/ Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

According to UNISEF, at least 200 million girls and women alive today living in 31 countries have undergone FGM (5). WHO defines FGM as the partial or total removal of external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. There are no health benefits but the health risks are substantial, including infections, hemorrhaging, complications during childbirth, and even death. This practice originates from a traditional belief, sometimes tied to religion, that removal of the clitoris will purify the female, remove sexual desire, and thus help women resist extramarital affairs. If you want to get involved in ending the inhumane practice of FGM, Daughters of Eve has put together an extensive list of resources.

AT WORK

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6/ Gender Pay Gap

Since the Equal Pay Act was passed in the United States in 1963, you would think we wouldn’t face this issue nearly sixty years later yet we still do. In 2019, the median full-time female worker makes just 80.7 cents for every dollar her male counterpart makes. And for Latina and black women, it is even lower. Asian women out-earn white women a bit, according to Business Insider's Data (7). Women returning after having children earn less too, which is referred to as the “mommy penalty”. The last group to suffer are older women: the pay gap widens with age. What can you do about it? Contact your HR department to find out if your company releases data on wages or has initiated changes to fix gender pay gaps like Salesforce, Apple, Intel, Starbucks, and Adobe. Speak out publicly on pay gaps in your industry like some brave women have done, including Patricia Arquette , Mika Brzezinski, and many more. Be transparent about your earnings and learn to negotiate. A few books I think every woman should read are Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss and Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois P. Frankel. You can use several websites to research fair wages by geography and role like Paysa, Glassdoor, and Payscale. 

7/ Sexual Harassment

Women have always suffered sexual harassment but it wasn’t until the 1970s that anyone officially gave this abuse a name. The first famous case was in 1991 by Anita Hill who accused her colleague, Justice Clarence Thomas, of it. He wasn’t convicted but this case brought national awareness to this issue for the first time. In 2019, there were 7,514 claims of sexual harassment filed in the United States (7) and employers paid $68.2 million through the EEOC. Sadly, not all women report sexual harassment. Some still endure abuse in exchange for career promotions and out of fear of being fired. 

In 2006, Tarana Burke, an activist and sexual abuse survivor, started the #MeToo movement online that went viral. In 2017, Alyssa Milano started a second wave of the #MeToo movement. Thanks to these two women, others felt safe to speak out and share their stories of sexual harassment and abuse. In fact, over the past few years, women have spoken up and led to convictions of powerful men who are also sex offenders, such as Harvey Weinstein and Bill Cosby.

If you know anyone who is being sexually harassed, they can report it to the authorities or seek advice from independent legal counsel or third-party organizations like RAINN.

8/ Not Enough Support for Working Women

Companies have worked very hard to create equal employment opportunities for women in the workplace yet we still havn't reached equality. It starts with creating a culture where men and women are equally encouraged and nurtured to embark on a leadership track. It is easier said than done. Some of the challenges women face in the modern workplace are:

a) Shortage of Leaders who Mentor Women for Leadership Roles

In Fortune’s 500 top companies of 2019 list, only 6.6% were female. Women of color made up an even smaller percentage of this group. Men still hold the majority of executive roles in corporate America. With the increase in sexual harassment lawsuits in the past thirty years, men seem a bit hesitant to groom females as their successors. Brad Johnson, PhD., and David Smith, PhD., authors of Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women, argue that they should do so anyways. Sadly, from the women who do reach leadership positions, the mentorship problem is not ideal either. Females aren't always supportive of one another and female leaders don't always reach back and pull another woman up in her footsteps. Why not? There is jealousy and competition among women, I'd argue even more so than among men. Also, many women who reached leadership positions made great personal sacrifices and aren't exactly role models for younger women who crave more balance. Companies will need to actively create mentorship programs to help more females reach leadership roles. In Sheryl Sandberg's popular book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead”, a guide for women how to succeed in a male-dominated workplace, she writes:

"Success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women. When a man is successful, he is liked by both men and women. When a woman is successful, people of both genders like her less." ~ Sheryl Sandberg

b) Negative Sentiments about Working Women

In 2020, women face unspoken prejudice that they won't be able to handle work and family, jealousy about maternity leave or flexible work, and some even still believe that they shouldn't be working at all. In fact, even women don't always support women. Last week, I participated in a discussion here on Linkedin about the stigma mothers face after returning to work and received the following comments:

"You need a good husband to provide while you stay home with the child. That's the only viable solution."

"It's not untrue that leadership positions are most likely to be given to people who prioritize work over all else."

"You seem to think that just because you're a parent you "deserve" special treatment! Fact is, you don't...."

I don't have a quick fix for all these judgements against women at work but I do think it won't change unless companies do more to encourage open talk about it. Forums or town hall discussions could help get some of the bias out in the open and resolve the negative sentiments that colleagues harbor against females, maybe even facilitated with a psychologist. Having more females in leadership roles would help too.

c) Lack of Flexibility /Family-Adverse Work Conditions

Women need flexibility at work. This is a fact, not an option. If their roles don't offer it, sooner or later, they leave. So flexibility is the key to retaining female employees. Yet, employers are still not flexible enough. The arguments against flexibility are weak. Employers may feel a woman won't complete her job duties if granted permission to work remotely. That is a trust and control issue, not a valid business concern that can't be prevented or dealt with. As remote work becomes more the norm instead of the exception, I predict more women will excel in careers that were traditionally male-dominated like 3D animation or graphic design.

d) Lack of /Inconsistent Family Benefits

Women need affordable childcare to return to work, preferably near their workplace or on-site. While not all employers can provide this benefit, I'd like to see more companies try. The same goes for paid maternity leave (and leave for new fathers too) and other family-friendly benefits. This can definitely be the reason a woman quits her job. With more women in leadership roles, I expect to see an increase in family-friendly work conditions and parental benefits. More women must speak up about their need for such benefits, as did several female athletes who helped change Nike's culture.

e) Women Staying Silent Instead of Speaking Out

A few brave women fight for their rights but most will quietly put up with unfair working conditions, lack of support at work, or even sexual harassment, instead of speaking up. If and when things get too bad, they will simply leave the workforce. This behavior creates a vicious cycle of subpar conditions for women everywhere. We need to stop tolerating it and start insisting on fair treatment, equal leadership opportunities, and family-friendly policies.

IN SOCIETY

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9/ Body Image Standards and Judgement

One of the most harmful issues females face in modern society is the narrow and one-sided portrayal of beauty. Girls and women feel pressured to meet a certain beauty standard at all costs. Social media has especially proven dangerous for girls' self esteem as they are subjected daily to airbrushed, unrealistic images of beauty and harmless comments about one's looks.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reported that 92% of all cosmetic procedures are performed on females. In 2018, 313, 000 breast augmentations were recorded in the United States. 8,636 of those patients were between thirteen and nineteen years old.

According to a study performed by the Mental Health Foundation in the UK, one in five adults felt shame about their body image and one in eight even experienced suicidal thoughts due to it.

Out of 30 million Americans diagnosed with an eating disorder, 20 million are women (8).

We can all do our part to reduce women's body image issues by portraying more diverse models in the media and praising girls for more than their looks. Kudos to Dove for their body image campaign. I'd also like to highlight a book that promotes healthy body image in girls, Strong is the New Pretty, by Kate T. Parker.

10/ Girl vs. Boy Stereotypes

Many of us grew up subjected to gender stereotypes. These limiting beliefs followed us from our homes to school into our communities and later into the workplace and society. Gender stereotypes set up barriers for women. We confuse girls by telling them they can "be whatever they want to be" but at the same time advising which careers are more appropriate or not "for a girl". In fact, it has never been more confusing for women. Some companies have taken the initiative to address these stereotypes like Always did with its #likeagirl campaign. Luckily, we are seeing females pioneering the way to breaking these stereotypes like Goldieblox, the toy company who makes engineering toys for girls, and Girls Who Code, the non-profit promoting women in Engineering.

11/ Unrealistic Expectations on Women (Mostly by Themselves)

The media portrays the modern woman as a superhero who excels in all areas: the perfect mother doting on her children, the perfect wife in a happy marriage, the perfect career woman with a good income, and the perfect woman taking care to maintain her outer beauty and stylish dress. It seems the woman of 2020 is expected to do it all. While women certainly try to live up to this standard, we often lack support and understanding for our real struggles, which we hide so well. Women are still doing the bulk of the housework by choice, despite husbands willing to help. Women still traditionally take on more of the children's duties. In many ways, it is our own fault for not always asking for help nor accepting it from our partners. No wonder we are exhausted, anxious, and often depressed. To top it off, many suffer from the imposter syndrome, a feeling of self doubt and a fear of being exposed as a fraud. In her book, Daring Greatly, author Brené Brown says:

You either walk inside your story and own it or you can stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.

-Brene Brown-

Thank you for reading! Do you have any issues you think we need to address to improve conditions for women worldwide, at work, or in society? I'd love to hear them. Please reach out. Happy Belated Women's Day!

Data Sources:

(1) https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafficking-in-Persons-Report.pdf

(2) https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/child-marriage/

(3) https://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/ending-violence-against-women/facts-and-figures

(4) https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/sites/gem-report/files/girls-factsheet-en.pdf

(5) https://data.unicef.org/topic/child-protection/female-genital-mutilation

(6) https://www.businessinsider.com/gender-wage-pay-gap-charts-2017-3

(7) https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/sexual_harassment_new.cfm

(8) https://centerfordiscovery.com/blog/statistics-behind-anorexia/

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