At the Bottom

It’s been a while since I posted and I figured I should probably get back on the writing wagon.

I recently spent seven weeks in Dubai and took a course called Women in Leadership. The course was an eye opening experience as it highlighted the serious lack of progress the U.S. has made for women’s rights. The countries represented in the class were Latvia, Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Ireland, the U.A.E., Russia, Syria, Canada, France, and the U.S. And by the end of the course I was seriously depressed at the state of women in the U.S.

Of all these countries, the U.S. is the only country that still does not have a federally mandated paid maternity leave law in place. While President Obama has finally acknowledged that this is a problem, we are still far from actually correcting the problem. So let’s look at how far behind we are:

In Sweden parents can take up to 480 days off per child, spread over the course of eight years. They also have cheap childcare as well as night care. And they have an incredibly low wage gap. Now, this is Sweden and Sweden is known for having the best in everything, I’m going to move on to other countries. Ireland has six months paid maternity leave and the government provides childcare for children between the ages of 4-6. France, we won’t get into because they, like Sweden, are just amazing. Syria gives three months of maternity leave and Russia gives women up to three years off. Finally, the U.A.E. grants women 40 days of maternity leave plus 100 extra days which can be claimed as sick leave; plus if the woman works for a government entity she can legally ask her employer to create a childcare facility at the office. Not bad for a country in a supposedly sexist region, no?

The U.S. is also lagging behind in terms of women in senior management positions. By region, North America is at the bottom, with only 21% of women in senior positions; compared to Latin America with 23%, Europe at 24% and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is at at the top with 32% of women in senior management positions. And if we look at women in government, the statistics are still rather upsetting. In the U.A.E. 30% of the seats in Parliament are occupied by women, in the U.S. only 18% of Congress is made up of women.

Now, there is still a long way to go for many of the countries mentioned above in terms of women’s rights. But for the U.S. to state that it is the home of equality and opportunity is not only seriously hypocritical, it is a blatant lie. If the U.S. really believed in equality and in women’s rights, paid maternity leave, abortion, child care, and birth control would not be issues of debate, they would be seen as necessary; as part of an equal opportunity society which allows its citizens to decide what is best for them. Unfortunately the mentality that the government knows what is best for me has caused the U.S. to be stuck in the mud when it comes to women. And the lack of women in politics means we are not progressing.

It’s infuriating. And at this point I would have no issue with implementing quotas. Tokenism be damned. If that is how things are going to change, then lets do it. If that is the only way America is going to get over its issue with women in power, then lets get to it. At least that way women would have the influence they need to change things. To provide support systems for women who want both a career and a family or make life easier for those who want to be a stay at home mother. And maybe get the U.S. out of the mud and into a more progressive mindset.

~Shahida

Comments are always welcome!

#BanBossy

In honor of the Ban Bossy campaign:

I want to ask women around the world, to stand up. I want you to stop prefacing any strong opinion about your rights with “I’m not a feminist or anything.”

I want you to be pissed when someone tells you to “just shut up and look pretty.”

I’m asking for my generation to stop pretending. Stop thinking that this is just how things are, that we can’t make any more progress. There is still room for improvement. And taking a step back, is not an option.

I want women to stop trying to be sweet and polite, when it goes against everything we feel. I want words like driven, strong, independent, ambitious to be synonymous with feminine. I want women in the media to represented as they are; not an unattainable fantasy of the patriarchy. I want strong women to be just that. I want the media to stop associating strong women with daddy issues. I want them to stop telling me what to wear, how to look, how to behave. I want to see women in media who look like me. Who aren’t blonde, skinny and white. I want to see women of color, of different ages, of different body types. And I want them to be considered beautiful and not as an exception. I want women to be livid when people say “well you could just be a trophy wife.” I want women to be furious when they are ignored or interrupted. Because it happens more often than not.

I want equality. And this starts with women empowering themselves. We are not bossy, we are leaders, we are not stubborn, we are strong. Ban Bossy is the start of a movement to break down the ideas which have kept women from taking their rightful place. And I for one, can’t wait to see how women will change our world.

 ~Shahida

Comments are always welcome

Unapologetic

I’m really tired of the stereotypes feminists have to put up with. The stereotypes of feminists being only lesbians, annoying, radical, crazy or women who just need a good shag is childish and ignorant. When having a well thought out opinion, is intelligence not an annoyance. And radical, well if wanting to be equal is considered radical, then yes we are. Crazy? Passionate and driven are more accurate terms. Because standing up for myself, shouldn’t be something out of the norm. Wanting respect, being able to say “no” and actually listened to, is not radical or crazy, it is a right. As for feminists only being lesbians or women who just need a good shag? Not true. Feminism is not limited to lesbians or women for that matter. And believe me, women who are feminists actually tend to have better and more stable relationships. I’m in a relationship with an absolutely wonderful man and am very happy.

But I digress. My point is that I’m frustrated the word “feminism” has become dirty. I’m frustrated with the inability of people to admit they are feminists; when wanting equality is not something to be ashamed of. And I’m frustrated at the complacency of our society. It’s the 21st century and yet we are still arguing over a woman’s right to her own body and the glass ceiling has yet to be shattered. This needs to end. As Joss Whedon said “equality is like gravity, we need it stand on this Earth as men and women.”

~Shahida

Comments are always welcome!

Shifting Stereotypes

Business is a terrible field for women. We are bossy if we take charge, bitchy if we are strong, cold if we don’t show our emotions, yet weak if we do. Our skirts can’t be too long or too short, heels are required but have the connotation of sex object. Our achievements are overshadowed by whispers of she slept her way to the top, she didn’t deserve it. The stereotypes we face are never ending. Yet I believe it is the forum to enact drastic change. Women are moving into top positions and making their mark at all levels of the organization. And I believe this will change perceptions of female leaders as you cannot generalize a group of people when the stereotypes are so succinctly contradicted.

If female leaders became the norm, it would be difficult to credit sleeping around as the cause for women’s success and not all female leaders could possibly be considered bitchy. Stilettos would no longer be associated with sex, but with a world class leader and our ideals of what great leadership is, would also begin to change. Female leaders have the power to transform the business world and hopefully society along with it. 

But first women must stop thinking that they need to be or act a certain way to get to the top and we need to stop competing against each other; there is room for more than one female manager, one female director. I once went to an event for International Women’s Day and the speaker was Baroness Floella Benjamin. One of the things she said resonated with me. She said that we, as women, need to lift each other up. Women need to nurture those who follow in their footsteps instead of creating obstacles for them. We need to stop seeing each other as a threat, but rather as a support system. We should own our nurturing and collaborative nature and see it as our strength, not our weakness. I believe this will be the key to shattering the stereotype that female leaders are bitchy, bossy or have no life.

I’m not saying that women are the problem and that the solution is within them. External change does also need to happen, but our ability to shift perceptions is part of the bigger picture. And one thing we can do, is irrefutably contradict the stereotypes which society has locked us into.

I know for me that is using stilettos as my banner. It is my way of saying that I am a whole human being, with opinions, aspirations, emotions; I am not just a pair of legs in stilettos. However this is just a small step in a movement that has a long way to go. I truly believe women will be the driving force of a new business paradigm. But we must be able to work together in order to transform how we are viewed both in the workplace and in society. And I have hope that my generation will be able to do just that.   

~Shahida 

Comments are always welcome! Also if you are interested in the Baroness, this is the link to her website. She is absolutely amazing. 

http://www.floellabenjamin.com/www.floellabenjamin.com/Welcome.html

What do stock photos say about women?

This is so true. Stereotypes are one of the reasons we haven’t quite broken the glass ceiling. We need to change our perspectives to foster a more equal world.

les femmes

“When we see images of women and girls and men, they often fall into the stereotypes that we’re trying to overcome, and you can’t be what you can’t see.” -Sheryl Sandberg

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23 Cents for Equality

I know there are people who will claim we live in a post-feminist world. But if you actually look closely, this is far from the truth. We are far from an equal world and to me feminism is about equality for Both genders. But I know that to achieve that we must first be aware of the obstacles women still face today. 

The wage gap is just one of these obstacles. (No, don’t argue. It exists). In the U.S. women earn 77 cents to every dollar a man makes, and in the U.K. women earn 84 cents. Well done England for being seven cents more progressive than the U.S. But it’s not just a matter of making less money on a monthly or yearly basis, it’s about the impact it has on women’s lives. Women are statistically more likely to be poor than men worldwide and less able to get out of the poverty cycle. Part of this is due to lower wages but policy reforms also hinder women. 

Lack of comprehensive childcare, for example,  is actually a massive issue, which doesn’t get the noise it should. Lack of childcare means women take more time off to take care of sick children, which translates to loss of income. (Single mothers have an even harder time because of this). The decrease in income will then affect women when they retire. Pensions are directly related to the amount of money made during a lifetime. Hence women will automatically have lower pensions. Especially if the country uses the policy of deferred income rather than a continuing wage. The difference is that a continuing wage approach is based on the wage earned in the last few years of work, while deferred income is based on contributions throughout a career. Hence women earning less, who also have interrupted careers or have family members to attend to, are able to contribute less and therefore have lower pensions. So something as simple as childcare could make a huge difference in the lives of women and may even decrease poverty rates.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Increasing fees for abortions, lack of maternity leave, work restrictions (in Asia the cost of work restrictions on women costs up to $80 million). There are so many laws and regulations that disproportionately affect women and keep them in poverty. This is wrong. Not just because it is unethical but because from an economic stand point, it’s just stupid. In rich countries, women make 80% of consumer buying decisions. If we close the wage gap and give them the they need support to sustain a career, it would be unbelievably beneficial for the economy. Plus it’s been shown that if women’s purchasing power increases, they reinvest it into healthcare, education and nutrition. Everything we should be investing in! And this applies worldwide. 

By alienating women and keeping them from becoming financially independent, we are limiting ourselves as a race to grow and develop. Women are more goal focused, more willing to cooperate and this helps change happen faster. If women are able to become more prominent world wide, imagine the changes that could be made. There are too many policies limiting opportunities for women, yet the future of the world economy lies in the equality of women and men. 

So when I hear people say we live in a post-feminist world, and then ask me why I consider myself a feminist, I can’t help but want to reply with, “Well, why wouldn’t I be?” 

~Shahida

As always comments and thoughts are welcome!

Snapshot

I’ve decided to take a look at the women’s movement on the international level. The timeline below gives a very concise view of the progress women have made since the 1700’s. And from the looks of it, we aren’t doing too badly. 

There are also other things I didn’t include that are worth noting. Christine Lagarde took the reins of the IMF in 2011. While the 2012 London Olympics saw the first Saudi women participants, Sarah Attar and Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhan. And of course, the Federal Reserve now has its first female chair, Janet Yellen.

We are making progress, but it is slow. If Hilary Clinton runs for the 2016 U.S. elections and wins, it will be almost 100 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified. (Which seems like a rather large gap between winning the right to vote and the first female president of the U.S.) But even if she does win and adds to the number of women in positions of power, how much of an effect will it have on a micro level?

Yes we are seeing more women on the international stage, but in the workforce there seems to be a trend of women leaving, rather than staying. So are the women we see just the exceptions to the rule? And if not, how can we translate their success into real change for the middle and lower classes?

It’s food for thought. But it does raise the issue that we also need to take a bottom-up approach, rather than just a top-down. We still have a pay gap, maternity leave is still an issue in some countries, and a 2011 McKinsey study found that women tend to be promoted on the basis of past achievements, while men are promoted on the basis of potential. And if people at the micro level aren’t creating some noise about this, then how much progress can we expect to make at a national or international level?

If Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever views women as the best asset a team can have, then maybe it’s time to take charge and ask for what we deserve. And make the women of the past proud.

~Shahida

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An Economy in Pink

The World Economic Forum is currently taking place in Davos. And while I have high hopes for the outcomes of the Forum, it does throw into light the lack of women sitting at the table.

Only 15% of Davos attendees are women (Telegraph). This means that of the 2,663 attendants only 400 of them are women. 736 CEO’s, 350 Bankers, 48 Heads of State, and representatives from 20 central banks. A world population where women represent half. And still women make up less than 20% of the attendees.

But what if women finally stood up for themselves and said enough. We’re done being your doormat, your sex toy, a pretty face. We are done being sidelined and made to feel guilty for wanting the same success our male counterparts enjoy. And we are done holding back. What would the demographics of the World Economic Forum look like then? Twenty-five percent women? Thirty? Fifty? That is what we should be striving for- an increase in women on the international stage. Not just to fill quotas, but because I truly believe that more women in the international arena can help shape a new and different world view. And different is what we need.

The ol’ boys club doesn’t seem to be working very well anymore, so why not involve someone else. Now, I’m not saying that men are idiots or anything of the sort. I just think it’s time to bring down the barriers and let women give their input into how a world that they live in should be run. Women and men think differently, whether that is caused by society or nature is another matter. The fact is that they do and this creates a balance and an ability to see things in a more holistic manner. So isn’t that what we should want to generate solutions for the world economy? Or for public schools, healthcare, tax plans. We need a balance of opinions and ideas and women can help create exactly that.

Anyways, I hope that the next Forum can proudly say that there has been a dramatic increase in the number of women attendees.

~Shahida

Thoughts are always welcome!