Most companies and brands are using International Women’s Day to draw attention to themselves. They use it as an opportunity to say look at us; we’re great!
The official Internal Women’s Day websites asks us to use this time to:
- Celebrate women’s achievements
- Raise awareness about discrimination
- Take action to drive gender parity
And while IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere; men have a particular responsibility to engage.
What are we asking people to do?
- Tell us about a woman’s achievement which (so far) has not received fair recognition e.g. Marion Mahony Griffin (1871–1961) known as one of the first licensed female architects in the world (Source: ToTheSource)
- Tell us about a way that women are discriminated against that people may not recognise e.g. iPhone is designed by men for mens hands; meaning many women (with normally smaller hands) literally can’t reach the buttons (Source: The Independent)
- Tell us one thing you’d like to see changed that would make things fairer e.g. Introduce free childcare (Source: Leeds Business School)_
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Here’s what a few of our staff brought to the discussion
Lucy Bakker, Account Executive (She/Her)
I’d like you to meet:
I can’t think now but I might come back later…
Did you know?
Women are treated less for pain than men are in medicine because of a lack of research and understanding on the differences in pain response between different sexes. “Women’s pain complaints are often written off as emotional responses, which explains the finding that women are prescribed psychotropics more often in pain treatment whereas men are given analgesics.”
Source: B.J. Anaesthesia / Source: NCBI.
I’d like to see:
Equal expectation on men for paternity time off (as I’m sure men want too) so men and women’s career progress is equally slowed by having children maybe
Nate, Developer (He/Him)
I’d like you to meet: Katherine Johnson
Katherine Johnson. She was one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist. She helped confirm the accuracy of computers used by NASA and performed calculations that ensured safe space travel.
Did you know?
Female athletes in some sports have to wear more revealing outfits than their male counterparts.
I’d like to see:
More opportunities offered to women and girls to help get them into male-dominated industries like tech and sports.
Jason, Developer (He/Him)
I’d like you to meet: Xia Li
Wrestling is one of my favourite things to watch and one of those wrestlers that I love watching perform is Xia Li. She is the first Chinese woman to ever compete in a WWE ring. She joined the company in 2017 and made her debut during the inaugural Mae Young Classic tournament. In 2023 she finally made her main roster debut after being drafted to WWE Raw.
Did you know?
Military body armour designed to fit men’s bodies, however, imperils women in multiple ways.
I’d like to see:
Like to see more support for women who go away and have children. As a new father i would like to see my partner to have more support in childcare such as free nursery care and not to feel like she has to rush back to work in fear of missing out on new career opportunities just because [she’s expected to be wholly responsible for childcare].
Laura, Managing Director (She/Her)
I’d like you to meet: My best friend
She gave birth last week. Credit where it’s due, the baby is ridiculously cute.
Did you know?
The first female crash test dummy was launched in September 2023; after ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY YEARS of only using male body shapes. Up until very recently it was presumed that if a car was safe for men it was safe for women. As you might imagine the results were literally deadly.
I’d like to see:
More influential women as part of the national curriculum. Whilst there have been steps taken to improve the study of women in UK schools; there is still a lot more opportunity to hear about their roles in science, maths, tech. Visibility & representation are very important.
Tom, Senior Account Manager (He/Him)
I’d like you to meet: Greta Gerwig
Her work, especially the Barbie movie, has been well received but I think that when people look back, we’ll be amazed at the impact it had.
Did you know?
Women only make up 35% of The House of Commons (despite bing 50%) of the population. This is also an all time high (at the time of writing) so the best we’ve ever done is to under-represent women by 15%.
I’d like to see:
Equal pay. It seems pretty simple but even in 2023 men were getting £4 more an hour than women.
Marek, Account Manager (He/Him)
I’d like you to meet: Hypatia
Hypatia of Alexandria was a Hellenistic Neoplatonist philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who lived in Alexandria, Egypt, during the late 4th and early 5th centuries CE. She is one of the earliest female mathematicians whose life is reasonably well-documented.
Unfortunately, Hypatia’s prominence in a predominantly male intellectual field and her association with political figures in Alexandria led to her becoming embroiled in political conflicts. In 415 CE, she was murdered by a Christian mob—an event often cited as symbolizing the end of classical antiquity and the suppression of scientific and philosophical inquiry during the rise of the Christian Roman Empire. Hypatia has since become a symbol of the loss of knowledge during this period and is celebrated as a martyr for philosophy and science.
Did you know?
75% of women of colour have experienced racism at work, with 27% having suffered racial slurs. Often women’s rights in the UK can be conflated with the experiences of White British women. This means that as things get better for White British middle-class women; it is seen as things getting better for everyone. However issues such as FMGC, Period-Poverty and religious clothing are serious women-only issues that can easily be overlooked.
I’d like to see:
Stronger employment law in favour of women requesting flexible working hours to accommodate childcare. On average, women have just three-fourths of the legal rights afforded to men