Women Unite!

After the recent saber-rattling by the powerful men of this world, on which I have plenty of thoughts but will not comment on in this blog, I did think about the women in our world.

Nearly all applications and developments are aimed at men (and sometimes even more specifically: the white man)… whether it concerns medical diagnostics, car design (including the accelerator pedal and airbags), fashion (female football players have been playing for decades in men’s shoes that hurt!), telephony (that smartphone is really too big!), networking or leadership in companies and government… this world is made for men!
By the way, the well-known song “It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s world” by James Brown was written by Betty Jean Newsome.

Changes are certainly underway!
Historical women whose contributions, in areas such as music and technological development, have long been overlooked are gaining increasing public recognition. There is an increasing number of research on the female body and the diagnostics of the most common (!) illnesses. The number of women in management positions is increasing (however slowly), with the most globally visible women in leadership positions being Ursula von der Leyen and Christine Lagarde. Most fields of study at Dutch universities have a majority number of female students (although I personally advocate for equal number of female and male students). The film industry is seeing a rise in female directors. In technology and logistics (including transport), it's becoming increasingly "normal" for women to work there. It's not happening quickly, but it is progressing. My feeling is that the louder some men and boys protest, the better women's emancipation has progressed. And of course there are men in the world (and very powerful ones too) who want to stop that process and even reverse it, but I do think we have reached the "point of no return"... now it is important to find the balance, so that as many people as possible can and want to participate.

In the 19th and 20th centuries there have been (in periods) women who actively fought for equal rights for women… it was only 105 years ago that women in the Netherlands were given the right to vote and it was only in 1956 (!) that the Dutch “law on legal incapacity” for married women was abolished.

While I believe change begins within society itself, sustainable social change in a society requires standards and often laws. Personally, I believe equity should be leading, not equality per se… because diversity should be embraced. We sometimes act as if the characteristics considered typically feminine are less valuable, or that the characteristics considered typically masculine should be downplayed. And as if both "types" of characteristics can’t exist in both women and men.

Personally, I find qualities like creativity, bridge-building, empathy, community spirit, nurturing and collaboration to be very positive and useful, but so are physical strength, strategic thinking, analytical skills, overview, focus or results-orientedness and pragmatism. And if you can't find all of these qualities in one person, combine them with several people who complement each other.

Today's women benefit enormously from the achievements of women before us in the field of women's emancipation and we should be grateful for the contribution of men in this.
But we women of the past 50-60 years have become a bit lazy in this regard and haven't always developed further. In my opinion, the biggest critics of women are still women themselves! Women are very verbally and sharply analysing what's wrong with other women instead of offering support, helping each other, or motivating each other. In politics, for example, female politicians are disproportionately targeted, and it's certainly not just men who do this. Women in important positions are still often viewed with some suspicion. Why is she in that position, how did she get there? Can she do it? Was this positive discrimination? The fact that we women still have to prove ourselves more (or think we do) is certainly not solely due to critical men.

Perhaps this is the logical next step in women's emancipation: that women support and empower each other, that we see women as individuals with qualities, and that being a woman or a man or otherwise is considered an added value and not as an opportunity for (pre)judgment, that we value and even love the female contribution, that we do not want to relegate women to the background. It's time we inspire girls and young women, through words and action, not only to develop their talents but also to truly be themselves (with all their diversity).
A mindset and cultural shift require more than just setting standards, but above all, dedicating time and attention to it. The "Women's Movement" and "Suffragettes" of the last century weren't so bad after all.

In technology and trade unions, you see all sorts of collaboration networks for and by women, and in Dutch political elections, the "Vote for a Woman" initiative has proven very successful. And why not? The "old boys' network" remains very common today. It still appears that companies with a high percentage of men in management often select a man as their first choice for a new top position, and that with active affirmative action policies, a much-heard comment is, "It mustn’t worsen quality, you know…”

My position is that we again could do with a broadly supported Women's movement:

    Women Unite! …One More Time 👍