Women can’t achieve equality without you.
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Three of the world’s best comic book artists pulled out of the running for a lifetime achievement award at the Angoulême comics festival in France because there was an all-male shortlist of nominees. This triggered another seven artists to pull out, forcing the organizers to add women to the list.
The exclusion of women is not an unusual occurrence and all male panels or “manels” on television, at conferences and major events is common. A powerful video by Emma Watson showed how women are under-represented in many fields and high level meetings. By removing men from photographs of UN Assemblies, TV Shows, Parliament Debates, she showed the striking the difference in gender representation.
A frequently given excuse for the exclusion of women—including at the French comics festival—is that there are few women experts. This is untrue. In fact, the Women in Comics Collective Against Sexism called for a boycott of the comics prize over the “total negation” of the growing number of women in comic-book art. “It all comes back to the disastrous glass ceiling; we’re tolerated, but never allowed top billing,” they wrote.
Despite 185 countries signing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action – Violence Against Women in 1995, after 20 years, globally, only 10 per cent of the members of legislative bodies and a lower percentage of ministerial positions are now held by women.
UN Women states that “socialization and negative stereotyping … reinforces the tendency for political decision-making to remain the domain of men. Likewise, the underrepresentation of women in decision-making positions in the areas of art, culture, sports, the media, education, religion and the law has prevented women from having a significant impact on many key institutions.”
The less you see women in positions of power and authority, the less relevant and important they are perceived to be, whether it’s in the comics field or national political leadership.
So how do we end this cycle of devaluing women and negating them from key processes and events? One obvious suggestion is for more men to step up and end it, forcing the mainstreaming of gender in all aspects of life.
Just like Daniel Clowes, Joann Sfar and Riad Sattouf walked out of the French comics festival, we need more men willing to give up some of their privileges to do so. Men like Hans Schulz, a vice president at Inter-American Development Bank, who makes sure there is at least one woman on a panel before he agrees to speak on it too and has been encouraging all men to make the same pledge.
We also need men to be aware of the disparities and encourage change, as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg did recently when he encouraged young women to aspire to “be the nerd” in a STEM field, not just to “date the nerd.” Or like Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who ensured his cabinet had equal representation and last month at the annual World Economic Forum, talked about gender equality and how “we shouldn’t be afraid of the word feminist.”
If all–or at least more–men responded that way, then these problems likely would not repeat themselves so many times. We know it is possible, we have each seen firsthand what can happen when men step up for women and girls.
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For Esther in Kenya, having been born in a family of four girls and one boy, and in a community where the boy child is valued more than a girl child, my father stepped up, encouraged us and sacrificed everything to ensure that we, including the girls, had a chance in education and that we pursued whatever our hearts dreamed of.
Despite him being looked down by many other men in the community who did not see the reason why he was educating girls, he boldly stepped up and continued to encourage us. He told us he believed in us. Today, I am a scientist. It took the consistent encouragement of my father who believed in gender equality to help my sisters and I become who we are today. Today, many fathers in my community are stepping up on behalf of the women in their lives.
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For Elsa in India, during my career I had several male superiors who took it upon themselves to mentor me and encourage me to take on roles that I would have never thought possible. The Chairman of my former company encouraged me to speak up at high level meetings both within the company as well as at the Ministry of Civil Aviation when representing the airline. I will never forget his words, “Don’t be afraid to take a stand and speak up. Know full well that I will support you.”
Those words of encouragement were enough for me to state my opinions in an environment dominated by “senior” “experienced” male colleagues. Thus I was able to successfully move to a senior role of Vice President of a highly strategic department – Network Planning – within the airline, a far cry from my initial entry as a Flight Attendant.
The time is now. We welcome and call upon all men who want to see gender equality to step up in their personal life. We can’t do it without you.
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Photo credit: Getty Images
The author needs to expand her view wider then just her gender and what she sees as necessary, because to make this declaration is seen more as an insult, a negation of men’s rights then it is a call to action. It does, by its very argument, dismiss everything and anything male in a most self centered way. For every hard luck story of a discriminated women, there is one for men today. For every horror story, there is a male story of like value. It is only when the vocal women tell just one side that conflict occurs, and… Read more »
Why? No, really, why should I help you?
The women’s movement has done nothing for me but accuse me of villainy, assign collective blame, and insult me. To say nothing of the trampling of men’s rights and the mockery and interference with our issues. So what exactly do you have to offer me?
Here is what I don’t understand … are you saying that just because all men are involved that they are prejudice just because they’re men? Could I say the same thing when all women are on a panel?
Sorry, I haven’t seen women (women’s movement) do anything to benefit men in the past 40 years. Suicide rate for men is still very high, countless Vets (majority men) are homeless, Men are behind in education … shall I go on?
Sorry, not interested.
Tom, the women have been busy fighting barriers to their own success. They have been so behind the fence that they couldn’t see the men’s struggles (let alone help them). Perhaps we need more dialogue on this issue to get women to stand up for us too in areas where they have started to excel more. Losing interest does not help the imbalance.
I loved reading your story Elsa and Esther. I just read some startling statistics about how women are represented in the media. Only 24% of news stories reported in 2011 where about women globally. Globally! Only 19% of news stories that focused on politics and government in 2010 where about women. Only 26% of women where direct sources of news in 2010 – reported by NPR Which tells us men are largely in charge of what we see, how we see it and decisions being made on political and governmental scales. What’s even sadder is that from 1999-2010 women have… Read more »
Thanks for your compliments.. Thanks for the additional statistics!! Yes, we agree, we need men to stand with us!!!