The Power of You: Foster Change in Your Communities with the GenderAvenger Pledge

Starting a movement does not need to be a grand gesture. The Revolutionary War, the civil rights movement, the women’s movement: these all started as conversations that led to small actions that led to the larger movements as we know them.

At GenderAvenger, we’re seeing that happen right now. We have seen an uptick in the number of people taking the GA Pledge over the past few weeks, which means a growing number of people are starting a conversation in their personal and professional circles about gender equality. All together, the small action of 800 or so people taking the GA Pledge to end all-male panels is creating a much larger movement.

On International Women’s Day, Danielle Merfeld, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at GE Renewable Energy, asked her 5,600 followers on LinkedIn to take the Pledge. A number of those followers signed the Pledge immediately, not only making a commitment to never sit on an all-male panel, but also not to assemble one either.

After reading about GenderAvenger in the article “7 Examples of What Being an Ally at Work Really Looks Like”, Demetriouse Russell, Chief Executive Officer at Venn Diagram Partners, LLC, spoke about it during a recent keynote address. He told attendees that "progress does not happen unless we take a stand to ally ourselves with women and underrepresented groups. Change is not a spectator sport!" His speech inspired at least one GA Pledge signer from a charter school in Brooklyn, NY, and, since Venn Diagram Partners, LLC specializes in leadership development focusing on “the intersection between leadership development, diversity, equity & inclusion and executive coaching for leading organizations who value the power of leveraging differences”, who knows how many more people Demetriouse will inspire to take the Pledge in the future.

In another recent LinkedIn post, Patrick Olszowski, UK activist and podcast host, wrote about male fragility and later included a comment that suggested followers take the GenderAvenger Pledge. He also included a link to a podcast episode where he interviewed GenderAvenger founder Gina Glantz.

Small actions like these add up. By simply talking about the GA Pledge, three different people from two different countries and three separate industries helped contribute to the 800 plus people who have committed not to sit on all-male panels. Each social media comment, post, and promotion spreads the word about the GA Pledge and tells your community, loud and clear, that you believe in raising women’s voices and ensuring their place in public dialog, that you are an ally and believe in and will fight for gender equality.

Ready to join the fight and take the GA Pledge? Go for it, and then make sure to tell all your friends and colleagues! Become part of the growing global community of people who know that women’s voices count and who will work to ensure a more gender balanced and informed public dialog.