Women in the Spotlight
Inaugural Poet: Amanda Gorman
By Sophie Crawford
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Amanda Gorman, first person to be named the U.S. National Youth Poet Laureate and speaker at Joe Biden’s inauguration, captivated audiences for five minutes on January 20. Born in 1998, this young poet performs for it all – swiftly and eloquently touching on issues of marginalization, race, feminism and the African diaspora, sometimes, all in one breath. Gorman has expressed that she repeats three sentences before every performance: “I am the daughter of Black writers; who descended from freedom fighters; who broke their chains and changed the world; they call me”. For Gorman, this serves as a response to two questions she demands poets ask themselves: “What do you stand for”, and “whose shoulders do you stand on”. This Harvard graduate and founder of the non-profit One Pen One Page – a writing and leadership program – delivered a reminiscent yet hopeful account of the US climate on January 20. Indeed, Gorman resonated the nation – and much of the globe – in under ten minutes, simply yet accurately capturing the essence of America since its dawn to the moment of her speech. Gorman, a 22-year-old that describes herself as a “skinny Black poet”, stands at an intersection of so much discrimination, yet reminds Americans that they are the future of a “nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished; there is always light; if only we're brave enough to see it; if only we're brave enough to be it”.
Playlist of the Month
If you're in search of the perfect playlist as a 'corrective to all the bros dominating the airwaves', for fueling an evening with friends or just movin' and groovin', you're in luck! Check out our playlist of the month:
Ruth Bader
Ginsberg
By Geneva Montagna
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With the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the past month, Former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, we can come to reflect upon her contributions to the ongoing fight of women’s rights. Long before she sat on the Supreme Court, she began to advocate for gender equality, serving as a voice for women in countless ways. Namely, Ginsburg was responsible for the inclusion of women in state-funded schools, allowed women to apply for credit cards and mortgages without a male co-signer, and she fought to protect pregnant women in the workplace. These are just a few of her
many accomplishments as a female leader. Truly a feminist icon and an inspiration for women – and men – everywhere! In 2009, Ginsburg stated that: "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. … It shouldn't be that women are the exception,” and she stood by this notion until the end of her days.
To return to her accomplishments, Ginsburg played a crucial role in preserving a women’s right to choose surrounding abortion. As we all know, Roe v. Wade continues to be a widely controversial, and unfortunately contested, law as support for the right to abortion is limited in the United States. Our fear is that this legislation in the United States granting women the right to choose will be struck down, now that Ginsburg’s voice is missing from the Supreme Court to defend this right. Further, as her death is two months shy of the upcoming presidential election, this risks the next presidential candidates potentially chipping away at women’s reproductive rights. Access to safe abortion services is a human right – or at least, it should be.
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So what can we take from all this? Well, restrictive abortion laws violate women's rights, and as Ginsburg’s death has left women feeling scared, we must acknowledge that our fight to achieve equality is far from being done, despite significant advancements made by Wonder Women such as Ginsburg. She paved the way for us to continue to advocate for the advancement of women’s rights, and to initiate change for this generation, and future generations, of women, and we must protect and uphold her legacy.
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To quote Kerry Washington, “Her rest is earned. It is our turn to fight.
COVID-19 and Working Women: How does it effect us?
By Maggie Larocque
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Did you know that globally, “women do three times as much unpaid care work as men” , according to a 2019 study from the (1) United Nations Women’s progress forum? It’s true. Women around the globe have been expected to not only take charge of childbearing, childcare, daily domestic services, emotional labor in both public and private spheres and much, much more. Yet, on top of all that unpaid labor, women that participate in the work force are often expected to maintain these enormous quantities of unpaid care work while simultaneously being a powerhouse or ‘SuperWomen’ in the work place. So, where do these inequitable expectations come from? And how does it relate to the current pandemic we all face? Let me tell you.
Inequitable Expectations
It is widely recognized that the root of these gender-based expectations are at the hands of capitalism and its inherently dividing nature. These capitalist gender-based expectations can start from a very young age. For example, studies found that boys can spend up to “30% less time doing household chores” and (2) actually receive compensation for when they do, while girls, on the other hand participate in the “majority of household chores without getting paid.” . This gender/labor division caused by the (3) functions of capitalism can be seen from very early stages of life and we see that these same notions often continue throughout adulthood. Given that the labor force and economy is structured in this consumerist mode, it causes the breadwinner (often times male) to participate mainly in the public sphere, leaving the other partner (often times female) to dwell in the private, domestic sphere. From this structure, expectations are made: the breadwinner (male) is expected to provide consistent, comfortable income and the domestic partner (female) is expected to control the maintenance of the household and childcare. Now, it is critical to recognize that I am utilizing traditional gender roles in this example to clarify the point, however, there are many gender-role defying couples that can combat these norms, such as dual-income families, some same-sex couples and childless married couples (4). However, in the utilization of the traditional gender-roles example above, the expectation of domestic labor, unquestionably falls to the female. Not only is the female expected to do the bulk of the housework and childcare (and more), but this labour form is also seen as less-than compared to the public labour of the male. This social mentality of diminishing the value of unpaid housework is damaging towards the equity between women and men and contributes to the continual divide and tension felt towards domestic and care work.
Women & Work
So, what happens if women choose to participate in the work force? What we can see through Mary Blair-Loy’s article, “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, and Family […]”, is that something called the “Second Shift” often occurs. Blair-Loy (5) describes the Second Shift in three core sections. The first, is that “women continue to do most of the ‘second shift’ – the unpaid work of childcare and housework," regardless of their daily labour (6) hours or demandingness of their job. Second, she finds that there is often “insufficient flexibility in the workplace for accommodating family caregiving needs”(7) , meaning that this capitalist structure is not usually willing to accommodate working women/mothers fairly. Lastly, she finds that there is “a deficit of public sector benefits, such as paid parental leave”(8) to accommodate the high domestic demands placed upon women, such as childbearing, childcare and even eldercare. Therefore, we can see that regardless of the long hours and demands of our jobs, women are still expected to work this ‘Second Shift’ and maintain all household tasks as usual. This often leads to a sense that there isn’t enough time in the day to meet these extreme demands, also known as the Time Famine , which ultimately can lead to working women burning out or opting out of the workforce completely, if there is not enough personal and professional support provided.
COVID-19 & Women
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COVID-19 is a new disease that has not been previously identified in humans that has spread across the globe in a matter of months, overwhelming countries, increasing death rates and overloading the health and care systems. While more and more people and families are isolated in their homes to stop the spread of COVID-19, care responsibilities are at an all time high. Even before this pandemic occurred, from cooking and cleaning, to taking care of children and the elderly, women have been already carrying out three times more unpaid household and care work than men . Since families are self isolating around the globe, the (10) demands on women have been astronomical. For example, if a working women is able to continue her work remotely, via the internet from home, there are still constant domestic demands placed upon her. Further, she does not have the escape or encouragement that a workplace often provides. However, the scene is different if you are a woman currently working in the Health Care sector. According to a 2019 report from the World Health Organization, “women form 70% of workers in the health and social sector”, yet they get paid “11% less than their male counterparts with similar occupation and same working hours” (11). So, not only are working women in Health Care on the frontlines of this pandemic, but they are being under compensated for this sacrifice.
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Final Thoughts
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This pandemic effects all working women. The increased amount of work and stress on frontline workers, the adjustment to remote labor, and the increasing and constant domestic demands at home can be simply too much to bear alone. There has never been a better time to share domestic labour and provide women around the World, the support they deserve. We are all in this together.
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(1)“Progress of the World's Women: Digital Library.” UN Women, 1 www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/progress-of-the-worlds-women.
(2) Blair-Loy, Mary et al. 2015. “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, 2 and Family: Insights from the Second Shift for the Next Quarter Century.” Community, Work & Family 18 (4): 437.
(3) Blair-Loy, Mary et al. 2015. “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, 3 and Family: Insights from the Second Shift for the Next Quarter Century.” Community, Work & Family 18 (4): 437.
(4) Baxter, Janeen. “Power Attitudes and Time: The Domestic Division of 4 Labour.” Journal of Comparative Family Studies, vol. 23, no. 2, 1992, pp. 165– 182. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41602209. Accessed 8 Apr. 2020.
(5) Blair-Loy, Mary et al. 2015. “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, and Family: Insights from the Second Shift for the Next Quarter Century.” Community, Work & Family 18 (4): 439.
(6) Blair-Loy, Mary et al. 2015. “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, and Family: Insights from the Second Shift for the Next Quarter Century.” Community, Work & Family 18 (4): 439.
(7) Blair-Loy, Mary et al. 2015. “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, and Family: Insights from the Second Shift for the Next Quarter Century.” Community, Work & Family 18 (4): 439.
(8) Blair-Loy, Mary et al. 2015. “Stability and Transformation in Gender, Work, and Family: Insights from the Second Shift for the Next Quarter Century.” Community, Work & Family 18 (4): 439.
(9) Robinson, Bryan. “Time Famine.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 16 9 Dec. 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/the-right-mindset/201712/ time-famine.
(10)“Progress of the World's Women: Digital Library.” UN Women, 10 www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/progress-of-the-worlds-women.
(11) Boniol M, McIsaac M, Xu L, Wuliji T, Diallo K, Campbell J. Gender equity in 11 the health workforce: analysis of 104 countries. Working paper 1. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019 (WHO/HIS/HWF/Gender/ WP1/2019.1).Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.
Melinda Gates
By Celestine Poirier
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Last month, Melinda Gates, the co-founder of the world’s largest private charitable organization, pledged to donate $1 billon over the next 10 years to promote gender equality in the US. She announced her pledge in an essay for Time magazine in which she explained what inspired her commitment to “expanding women’s power and influence in the United States.” In the essay Gates outlines how through her company, Pivotal Ventures, she will funnel resources into a) dismantling the barriers to women’s professional advancement, b) helping to fast-track women’s careers in industries dominated by men (e.g. technology and public office) and c) funding research and data on gender inequality. This pledge is just one example among many of Gates using her position in the spotlight to empower women, especially in their professional lives – a result of her experience in a male-dominated workplace at Microsoft. Gates writes “Equality can’t wait, and no one in a position to act should either.” Clearly, these are words that Gates lives by - and so should we! You can read her full essay here: https://time.com/5690596/melinda-gates-empowering-women/
By Celestine Poirier
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In September, Chanel Miller publicly identified herself as the survivor in the Brock Turner sexual assault case. Now, in an essay for Glamour’s Women of the Year issue, she’s encouraging other survivors to be kinder to themselves in their healing: “Fight, but just as important, rest. It’s society that needs to do more, to learn how to listen, to hold the space for survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.” As a minority woman and a survivor of sexual assault, Miller’s courage in sharing her story gives a voice to a segment of society that is too-often invisible and excluded from public conversations. Reclaiming her identity has been a 4-year-long journey, but the power behind her words and story has resonated in such a way that perhaps, people are finally ready to listen. She recently published a critically acclaimed memoir called Know My Name and you can read her essay here: https://www.glamour.com/story/chanel-miller-on-coming-forward
Chanel Miller
Katie Sowers
By Kayla Demarest
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Katie Sowers made history as the second female coach in the NFL and the first openly LGBTQ coach!
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"No matter what you do in life, one of the most important things is to be true to who you are"
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Learn more here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2017/08/23/49ers-katie-sowers-becomes-first-openly-lgbt-coach-in-nfl/
Jeanne Mance
By Brianna Mendes
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Jeanne Mance was a French nurse and settler of New France. If you've spent time near parc and pins, you'll be familiar with the hospital l'Hotel-Dieu de Montreal which she founded and where she cared for patients as well as acting as head of the hospital (although the site in the plateau is not its original location). Jeanne Mance was also one of the founders of the city of Montreal and had a vision for the city as a utopian colony.
Claudia Lopez
By Celestine Poirier
On October 28 2019, Bogota made history when it elected its first female mayor, Claudia Lopez. An openly gay journalist turned politician, Lopez became known for her anti-corruption investigations where she relentlessly exposed high-ranking politicians despite multiple efforts to silence her. Her new position as Bogota’s mayor now makes her the second most influential politician after the President.
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Claudia Lopez is inspiring for a multitude of reasons and her election really shines as a light of hope for women, for the LGTBQ+ community and for all Colombians. Lopez has challenged head on one of the most widespread issues not only in Colombia but the whole of Latin America: corruption. This has put her life in danger (she temporarily had to flee the country in 2013 after receiving death threats) and triggered an outpour of efforts trying to silence and delegitimize her through defamation court cases.
However, throughout all these adversities, Lopez has remained steadfast in her beliefs and determination, her commitment defying the status-quo among corrupt actors and forging a new example for straightforward politicians in Colombian politics.
Moreover, this deep-rooted dedication to transparent democracy and outspoken individuality has embodied a hope for change in the violent context of this election. Although this round of local and regional elections was officially the most peaceful in recent years, seven candidates lost their lives and dozens more were attacked, highlighting how violence still threatens the democratic process in Colombia. Lopez’s election as both a woman and member of the LGBTQ+ community defies the idea that violent threats can stifle minority voices and acts as a beacon of light for all minorities and women in Colombia.
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Lastly, Lopez is a member of the Green Alliance in Colombia – one of their central policies being resource sustainability. In this way, Lopez is demonstrating the active role women can play in bringing sustainability to the front of discussion in politics, and how different perspectives will enrich our ability to tackle the global issue of climate change that threatens us all.
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In fact, many women around the globe are leading the way in making our planet more sustainable. Want to find out more? Check out our event on November 19, Women in Sustainable Strategies, to learn from inspiring women and their sustainable strategies!