Avengers of the Week | A Reminder… YOU Are Avengers Of The Week
Cosmetic progress and comfort can hypnotize us into believing that the work of gender equality is nearly finished. But this year provided us with many unpleasant surprises and reminders that so much work is required to bring gender equality to all spaces.
According to the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Report, “it will take 155 years to close the Political Empowerment gender gap, 151 years for the Economic Participation and Opportunity gender gap, and 22 years for the Educational Attainment gender gap.” And because progress to parity stalled for the Health and Survival gender gap, it remained undefined in the WEF 2022 report. This is not good news for women, even worse for women with marginalized identities or those experiencing the compounded effects of intersectional oppression.
Every single one of us has the power, the capacity, and the ability to create meaningful change. People are working every day on the frontlines protesting, writing letters, holding space for others, and putting their lives on the line for equality. And for the busy, nervous, uncomfortable, or uncertain (about what to do), there are small and quiet opportunities to help close the gender gaps.
As you rest, reflect, and vacation this summer, continue to think about the following:
Where are the women? Taking inspiration from the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, women's voices should be in every place that power is exercised. And when we see that decisions are made without women, we must demand women be there.
Counting is an act of revealing inequality, not a game of shame and blame. Measurement, accountability, and change are interdependent. The goal of the GenderAvenger Tally is not to shame organizations or individuals but to start a more nuanced conversation about who is and is not present in public dialogue. We’ve seen the GA Tally used in media, at conferences, and in politics to reveal blind spots and needs when it comes to the participation of women experts in a specific space.
It takes a village; build yours. There are people just as passionate as you are who might be waiting for you to bring them in. How can you encourage the people in your family, community, and friend groups to get involved? At GenderAvenger, we believe that individual voices amplified by the power of a committed online community can affect change. Coalition building means we bring people together to create long-term solutions. It means we extend the invitation to individuals and organizations that need help building more inclusive, intersectional conference line-ups, TV shows, and political bodies.
Small, consistent, intentional acts can fuel long-lasting systemic change. It's not just about marching, demonstrations, or calling people out. It's also about how we direct that passion as a regimented, disciplined, and intentional act of change. That small act could be donations, op-eds, writing to people in positions of power, or as simple as speaking up in meetings to ensure that women and women at the margins are being heard and adequately celebrated for their efforts in the workplace.
So… How will you infuse the passion for gender equality into your day-to-day life? For added inspiration, read this thread by Dr. Gwen Grinyer on why she turned down an opportunity to speak at a physics conference.
Here’s our favorite tweet of the thread where Dr. Grinyer asks better questions:
YOU are always our GenderAvengers of the Week. Please continue to tag us when you see problems and progress. We see you, even when we don’t retweet!
YIKES! @WEF 2022 report gives us 132 years to close the global gender gap. This makes it all the more important that each person become a #GenderAvenger! Special shout out to @gwendoesscience this week for inspiring the community.