This International Women’s Day, Let’s Focus On Equity

Happy Women’s History Month! (Sort of)

This March, Women’s History Month feels quieter than in recent years. We haven’t yet seen many brands, particularly not mainstream brands, posting content out and we have been wondering, like many women, including journalist Poorna Bell, who wrote this Instagram post on the possible reasons for this and whether this is because “Now, maybe companies are doing such a good job of bridging the pay gap, representing women at senior management women, making sure marginalised women are represented that there’s no need for events who can be box-ticking bandaids for the more serious long-term internal issues around women’s equality.” She is being ironic, of course!

What do you think is going on? Let us know by replying to this email.

Over on the collettephilip.com blog, I’ve written about how important it is that International Women’s Day (March 8) themes are actionable. This year’s UN one – ‘Invest in women: Accelerate progress’– is a step in the right direction as it centres systemic change. One key aspect of centring systemic change that I talk about a lot in my writing and speaking work is amplifying women’s voices and leadership – especially women from minoritised communities. Too often, women are sidelined or marginalised in decision-making processes, whether in boardrooms, parliaments, or community settings. By actively promoting women’s participation and leadership roles, and focussing on the women who are MOST minoritised, we move beyond representation and create equity for all. ?

And let me tell you, when enough people come together with a shared vision for change, amazing things can happen. I’ve seen it firsthand in my own community, where advocates and campaigners are working ?hard to dismantle barriers and create opportunities for female founders and women in the workplace. (And it’s why we continue to spotlight Black female change-makers on our blog).

Often there’s a conversation about who should be calling for this change. ?Often the burden falls to the most minoritised and marginalised voices to call for their own liberation. ?But it’s down to all of us - especially those who aren’t impacted by multiple systems of oppression. ?The Disabled community have a brilliant saying “Nothing About Us, Without Us”. ?And that’s exactly how we have to call for change. ?Yes, we can join with minoritised and marginalised women in speaking up for justice. ? No we can’t centre ourselves, or drown their voices out with whataboutery and privilege as we do so. ?

I’ve seen two brilliant examples of this recently. ?The first is the Free Palestine movement and continued protests against the genocide that are happening in cities across the world. ?What a powerful show of solidarity against the biggest injustice of our time.

The second was in this (you might have seen me share this on LinkedIn earlier in the week).

Read my latest blog in full to learn more

I’d love to hear about what’s got you all fired up this International Women’s Day – email back with your thoughts!

Collette Philip Award-winning Brand Strategist, Speaker And Anti-racism Expert

PS We’ll also be posting this content out via our Brand By Me channels, too!

PPS Stay connected on social channels for more International Women's Day content.