Happy "Women Work Here!" Day
AKA International Women's Day
The performative posts of International Women’s Day bug me every year.
For some reason, companies the world over decided that this is the day to simply post some bios or pics on social of all the gals in the company and call it job done. If they really want to push the boat out, they perhaps hold a cute little coffee morning, too, or get someone in to do manicures (yes, really!) for the day.
Appreciating women, innit.
It’s a very cookie-cutter approach to celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, and it’s promptly forgotten about until the following year. It gives little to nothing to the conversation, firstly, and to me, it shows a gaping hole in the understanding of women’s issues and how far we still have to go.
Because the fact of the matter is, as a society, we have a lot of fucking work to do when it comes to equality.
I came across some interesting stats this morning that I thought I’d share here, on International Women’s Day, to illustrate the problems and the work that needs to be done:
Women in the UK earn 86p for every £1 earned by a man. The gap gets even bigger when you incorporate race and disability, and, a topic very close to my heart: the motherhood penalty. (ONS)
There were 862,765 reports of domestic abuse offences in the year ending Sept 2023. This crime accounts for almost 1/6 of crimes reported, whilst the conviction rate is a staggeringly low 5%. (Refuge)
84% of women say there have been times when they were not listened to by a healthcare professional. I can firmly say I’m in that percentage. (The Government’s Women’s Health Survey)
The gender pension gap begins, on average, at £100 at the start of a woman’s career and catapults to £100,000 by the end of it. (Scottish Widows)
Working mothers in the UK are twice as likely as fathers to consider quitting their jobs over childcare costs. (Fawcett Society/TotalJobs)
Only 2% of medical research funding is spent on pregnancy, childbirth and female reproductive health, despite 1 in 3 women reporting a reproductive or gynaecological issue. (Imperial College London)
Around 650m women and girls around the world are involved in forced marriage. (Unicef)
Black and minority ethnic women are nearly 3x more likely to face unemployment than white women. A stat that has grown since 2008. (Trade Unions Congress)
This is merely scratching the surface, and there is so much more to say when we consider things like race, disability, gender, sexual orientation and religion.
It’s also not including wildly disappointing statistics around women in leadership, female business owners, women being forced out of their jobs for daring to have kids, and the mind-boggling daily oppression of women in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Somalia.
It’s International Women’s Day, but we’re usually only looking West.
There are also very concerning shifts in attitudes towards a woman’s right to choose, with the obvious catalyst being the US’ crazy overturning of Roe vs Wade in 2022, with terrifying consequences playing out daily. The anger and control around this topic is a momentum that’s constantly picking up speed, and it should be a concern for us all.
Female reproductive rights are seemingly back in the hands of old white men in the US, and some alarming activities are going on now around egg freezing, too, like in Alabama, where The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law.
In some aspects, it can feel like we’re going backwards (apart from in good old France, of course!)
Should companies just shut up, then?
In a word, no, but there’s a lot of room for improvement.
I don’t want to sit here and complain about businesses shining a spotlight on the women who work for them, because it’s something - I suppose - but, it’s also basic, thoughtless and lazy. It’s a tick-box exercise and it reeks.
What I’d love to see, is affirmative action, year-round, and accountability.
Rather than posting a performative reel or slides of images covering Jan from Accounts’ favourite cocktail and ultimate beach read, we should be looking at the initiatives in place to action and promote genuine equality in the workplace and share the genuine impact these initiatives have via women’s voices. That, I’d read/watch.
IWD should be an opportunity to challenge ourselves, ask “Are we doing enough?” and explore how to fix it if not—communicating honestly. It’s not that hard.
Most of us are well aware of companies that post the usual IWD fodder but don’t offer flexible working, a fair maternity package or equal opportunities. The ones insisting it’s “back to the office” when it’s well-publicised by fantastic organisations like Pregnant Then Screwed that this is a policy that disproportionately impacts the career prospects of women.
There are also countless organisations where sexism and workplace abuse towards female colleagues is rife, but for this one special day a year, they’re well up for presenting the women in the company to the wider business community like it’s Crufts. “Well done us”, they’re saying.
I would love to be sitting here next year seeing a heap of content that shows targets, benchmarks and accountability for initiatives that strive to bridge the genuine inequality faced by women, as well as more of women’s voices on the shit that matters. Less “what’s your favourite boxset” and more “Becky and Rachel job share as they’re both fantastically talented people who we wanted to keep, but also wanted to help them support their families.”
Will it happen?
Some companies are doing a truly fantastic job, and I must give them their due credit because it isn’t all bad. But in the mainstream? I’m doubtful. Verrrrry doubtful.
So Happy “Women Work Here Too!” Day, to all who celebrate it 👀
