The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, celebrated globally on 8 March, is #EmbraceEquity. At the University of Greenwich, we have an ‘Education without Boundaries’ approach, which sets equitable access to opportunity at the heart of what we do.
This year, the thriving Women’s Staff Network of over 300 members is celebrating IWD with workshops and events, challenging our members to explore themes around personal goal setting and productivity, allyship and being brave in living life authentically.
#EmbraceEquity
Some of you reading this may wonder why the theme is ‘Embrace Equity’ rather than embracing equality. It’s often demonstrated using the above graphic. On the left, the three spectators each have one box to stand on. But the tallest person doesn’t need a box, the middle person needs two, and the wheelchair user needs a ramp. Equity isn’t something that happens by itself, it’s easy to think that the equality represented below is ‘good enough’. There are further versions of this which remove the fence altogether, representing liberation.
Equity in action
Equity in action is visible through the rise of Women’s Football; the Lionesses were clear that their success was not developed through having received equitable support, it was despite not having had that support. Within the Women’s Network at the university, we often discuss how people can contribute to improving equity.
Allyship is a key part of this – and it’s something that we can all contribute to. The data shows this is essential – a 2022 report by LeanIn and McKinsey highlighted the significant gap between males and females in the workplace.
None of this is new; the challenges reported by women include having co-workers take credit for their ideas, being mistaken for someone more junior and the ‘broken rung’, a lack of opportunities to make the first step to management. All of this contributes to the path to senior leadership being more achievable by men than women. The data also shows that responsibility for household labour is not equitable, with senior women retaining primary responsibility for their households while senior men are rarely the primary person responsible for their family’s housework and/or childcare.
At the university, we’re working hard to make work equitable through training for managers and research and training into allyship. The commitment to the Women’s Network is supporting this, as is having inspirational female leaders in our organisation. But, we recognise we have a long way to go, and just like the Lionesses, we recognise that having a strong talent pipeline is essential.
I’d like to finish with a question for you, the reader. What can you do next week to make your work/school/university more equitable? How can you be the person who acts to improve equity around you? If we all challenge ourselves with that question, we are truly #EmbracingEquity.
