International Women’s Day
#EmbraceEquity
International Women’s Day (IWD), marked annually on March 8, celebrates the achievements of women and calls for women’s equality. This year’s IWD theme is #EmbraceEquity in the workplace, healthcare, sports, and arts.
Jenny Garrett OBE, an award-winning career coach, trainer, and author, compiled 37 ways to embrace equality for the IWD blog. We’ve chosen a few of our favorites from Jenny’s article and added a couple of our own here:
- Flip it.
Have you heard a woman being referred to as a ‘working mom’? How often do you hear men referred to as a ‘working dad?’ If you can’t flip it, don’t say it.
- ‘One and done’ is not enough.
Recruiting one woman is not enough to make change happen.
- Use an intersectional lens.
Consider the diversity of women in your community and workspace. What are the experiences of women who don’t identify as white, straight, or without disability?
- Read Invisible Women.
Written by Caroline Criado Perez, this book uses eye-opening data to understand bias in a world designed by men.
- Support art made by women.
Read books, listen to music, and buy art created by women.
- Listen.
Ask women about their experiences and obstacles and act on their recommendations.
- Start at home.
Who does the housework, the lion’s share of the caring and household admin?
- Support women-owned businesses.
Shopping at small businesses owned by women supports them and their families—and improves local economies.
- Stop stagnating women’s careers.
When they are pregnant, parenting, or assuming the responsibility for the care of their parents.
- Don’t leave the office housework to women.
Do women, even if in a leadership role, take on more admin tasks at your workplace?
- Advocate for gender equity in healthcare.
Know about common gender biases of doctors and call for the inclusion of more women in clinical trials.
- Tune in.
Keep in touch with world affairs, watch documentaries, listen to podcasts, and find ways to remove obstacles to gender equity.
- Use inclusive language.
When referring to groups of people, an inclusive “y’all” is better than the gender-specific ‘you guys” or “ladies and gentlemen.”
- Separate performance.
Appreciate that talent doesn’t just look and behave in one way. Separate performance from potential and personality from skill sets.
- Watch and attend women’s sporting events.
Start with the University of Kentucky Women’s Basketball, Softball, or Soccer games.
- Check your bias.
Take the Implicit Association Test to measure attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report.
- Believe survivors of intimate partner abuse.
Support missions like ours to advocate against power-based violence, call for change, and support survivors during the healing journey.