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BY MARIA GARRIDO - 2 MINUTE READ
This year's theme for International Women's month is Embrace Equity, but what does this really mean?
Embracing equity is not about 50/50; it's about acknowledging our differences so that we create the conditions that allow women to belong, to thrive and to succeed. Equity is more than equal opportunities, it goes beyond giving women access to positions of power. Equity needs to start with the seemingly mundane challenges women face every day.
MIND THE GAP
I first became conscious of everyday inequality thanks to the pavement. Twenty years ago, I worked in the business district of Paris and every morning I had to walk 500 metres across the plaza to my office building. As I made my way to work, my eyes were locked to the pavement and my focus was on making sure I didn't break an ankle by having my heel slip through the massive gaps in the pavement blocks. I often saw other women maneuver their way through this plaza with eyes locked on the ground and thought there was no way female engineers had been involved in this brilliantly dangerous design.🙄
This anecdote may seem silly but it awakened my consciousness to the everyday inequalities that just pile up against women. Of course there are others that are much more important than my heel-to-pavement-gap dilemna, issues that we can help fix today that would have a huge impact on women's lives.
NOT EXACTLY EQUAL
Progress on simple everyday equity issues would make our lives as women more comfortable.
MORE toilet stalls! In India, women don’t have enough safe and private spaces to go. In Europe, lines are always longer, even though women’ and men’s WC's are often EQUAL in size. For many anatomical and societal reasons women (& children) take longer. Toilets should be designed to accommodate for these differences. This is embrace equity.
SAFE public transportation. In France, 67% of commuters are women. In Chicago, female commuters also make up +60%. Ensuring female passengers can travel safely is key to the economy. Yet, from Latin America to Asia, women feel less safe on public transport; 64% of Mexican women report having been groped or sexually harassed. Today, these transport systems are not designed to prevent this and most solutions are not created by or for women. For example, CCTV- often favored by men-, doesn’t help victims at the time the crime is taking place. So, listen to female commuters; they want better lighting- not just at stops but in the surrounding streets- panic buttons on trains/buses, being allowed to request personal bus stops, more personnel on board, et. As a fellow passengers, when you see a woman being harassed, don’t be afraid to see it, say it, sort it. This is embrace equity.
SHARE Household chores. The global pandemic made it blatantly obvious that despite the advancements in women’s professional lives, they are still carrying the vast majority of the burden at home. Everything from child rearing, to caring for aging parents, to cleaning, cooking, etc. Most of the unpaidwork is still the burden of women, not of men. Comprehensive support for working parents- men and women alike- and removing the social stigma for men who participate more in their children’s and partner’s lives; these things improve family dynamics and professional opportunities for women. If the company you work for offers paternity leave, great! However, experience across many countries show that only when a ‘use it or lose it’ policy is in place do more men take advantage of it. So companies should encourage men so that everyone benefits. This is also embrace equity.
EMBRACE EQUITY
I’m hopeful that we will continue to move mountains towards cultivating a truly diverse and inclusive society. However, small progress is still progress and we should all try to contribute to easing the challenges women face every day.
When we truly embrace equity , we drive a culture of understanding where we adapt policies that respect our differences, acknowledge the richness this brings to our society and create the right conditions that cultivate a culture of success for all.
SELF CARE TIP
By embracing equity, we are practicing a form of empathy. We become mindful of other people's lived experiences, acknowledge the unique challenges they face and support fair treatment and equality of opportunity for all. Having empathy for others enables us to build strong social connections, which are important for optimal wellbeing and ultimately strengthen our relationships,
helping us feel valued and cared for.
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