Today is International Women's Day! A day steeped in history and struggle, but one that has played a vital part in the emancipation of women (more so in the West of course). While there is no denying that we still have a very long way to go, I believe it's important to honour those who had come before and paved the way to the freedoms many* more women enjoy today.
This year, IWD is all about finding a balance. #BalanceForBetter has been a year-round campaign that raises awareness about how gender equality means a better life for all. In fact, gender equality is even one of the UN's Sustainability Goals.
The UN goes so far as to say that "gender equality is not a human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world."
You can learn more about the UN's Sustainability Goals here, and how you can help them achieve their target for gender equality here.
A Brief History of IWD
The first official gathering for IWD was held on the 19th of March in 1911 and honoured by over a million men and women in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. It wasn't until 1913 that 8 March became the day to stand up for women's equal rights, but also celebrating their achievements.
You can read about this here.
Finding a Balance
To achieve balance, we need to make short term shifts to the status quo. Often time, these shifts are uncomfortable - for both parties. For those that are losing their "power seat" to a marginalised community (in this case men vs women), the ego is effected. Fear sets in that they will no longer enjoy the privileges they have been accustomed too for centuries. While this may be true for a time, it is not true forever. For the communities (i.e. women) that are beginning to find equality, all too often they don't know what to do with their new found status. There is a risk of this power being misused and misappropriated. But, for equality to work, there needs to be an equal footing, and that means men and women need to have access to a level playing field. To level this playing field, however, we need to take from the many and give to the few. Only then can we truly start playing the game!
How to Grow Strong, Healthy Communities; with Women at the Core
Think of it like exercise; you go to the gym to get stronger, fitter and healthier - but you cannot achieve overall health if you are working only one muscle group. By strengthening your core, you support your entire body; because everything is connected. Women are the core of society. Until such time that we understand the interconnectedness of man, woman and the world at large, we are never going to succeed in achieving steady a GDP for the benefit of everyone or the environmental sustainability we so desperately need to ensure a functioning planet for future generations.
In order for women to play their part in the success of finding true equality, we need to honour the values of the suffragette movement and instil them into our lives, approach and daily practices; or we run the risk becoming the problem.
March is for Communities
With our focus for March 2019 being on 'communities', I wanted to look at the role of women in communities, in particular, the creative economy. I want to look at what part we have to play to in "thinking equal, building smart and innovating for change".
The UK's Department of Culture, Media and Sport released a report in 2016 that indicated that women held only 37.2% of jobs in the creative industry (with the largest percentage being in the publishing sector (49%)) a figure that didn't change much in the years 2011 - 2015.
According to EY, women are the next "emerging market" and estimate that by 2028, women will hold 75% of the discretionary spend. That is primed for the fashion, beauty and lifestyle sectors as we currently drive '70% - 80% of all consumer purchasing decisions'. Ones in which our role as novel creatives plays a huge part.
We need to ensure that we are continually challenging the status quo and that we are supporting women (who in turn are raising children, feeding families, improving education and health standards, etc., etc.) throughout the supply chain of the industries in which we work.
At Novel Creatives, equality and diversity play a key role in ensuring that our offer can cater to a much broader cross-section of society and can, in turn, uplift communities that are currently being left behind. We are proud that a large majority of of our creative community are indeed women. That doesn't mean however, that we don't want to see more men joining our marketplace.
*To find out more about the disparities women still face around the world, read this very informative - and visually engaging - article about global gender inequality by Katja Iversen.