Women's Views on News |
- Resounding silence from Sheryl Sandberg
- Town to pilot women’s sports project
- Chime for Change loud and clear
| Resounding silence from Sheryl Sandberg Posted: 04 Jun 2013 08:43 AM PDT
When Sheryl Sandberg's book – Lean In - was released earlier this year, there was a great furore about how wonderful it was that a feminist had finally reached the dizzy heights of board membership of Facebook. According to Guardian writer Zoe Williams, in ‘Lean In’, Sandberg – who has been chief operating officer for Facebook since 2008 - says that women hold themselves back because of a raft of factors: social expectation, a lack of domestic assertiveness, and a sense that, from the minute women reach maturity, they are forward-planning for their own subservience. Kate Losse, previously a Facebook employee, also wrote an interesting review and feels that the book’s goal is 'to push women forward into their work so as to overcome … women's universal internal resistance to career velocity'. And Losse said that Sandberg assumes that the feminist question is ' how can I be a more successful worker?' Losse also pointed out that the book does not offer a structural feminist critique of the workplace, preferring instead to focus on the work that women need to do within themselves in order to get ahead. It is at this point that I have to admit to not having read the book myself. I know very well what held me back from being on the board of a major organisation – namely my gender and all that comes with it; from being a working class girl who was never encouraged to aim for a career to no possibility of university and then being a single parent, to name just a few. But more pertinently, as one of WVoN’s organisers of a campaign in 2011 aimed at getting Facebook to take responsibility for adhering to its own community guidelines, I found the praise that Sandberg was getting for the book and her success somewhat nauseating. In my view, a woman making it to the top is not news unless she uses her influence to change things for the better for other women. If she does not, she is nothing more than a corporate drone. Responses to this line of thought have included me being firmly told by one blogger that just because a woman is successful, she shouldn’t be held accountable for the position of the rest of us who are languishing in the shallows. I beg to differ. The latest campaign against Facebook’s irresponsibility regarding its own guidelines, using the hashtag #FBrape, took off in a big way, fuelled by 60,000 tweets, over 5000 emails and a number of advertisers pulling their ads from the site. Sadly, Sky, American Express, Dove – which promotes its products as empowering women – and others were not included in this list. However, Facebook did listen: see WAM and Facebook’s statements here. But, going back to Zoe William's point – that Sandberg thinks women hold themselves back because of social expectations, a lack of domestic assertiveness, and subservience: hmm, now let me think – could Facebook be perpetuating and reflecting the very problems that Sandberg exhorts women to get over? Could upsetting images of domestic abuse on Facebook, frequently found ‘not to have violated Facebook's standards’, have anything to do with 'a lack of domestic assertiveness'? Could being exposed to extreme and violent misogynistic images hosted on one of the world's largest social media platforms have anything to do with women finding it difficult to overcome 'societal expectations' – namely that we are nothing more than objects for the male gaze? Could Sandberg's own organisation – and she sits on the board – be playing a part in the perpetuation of the cultural and societal norms that dictate that women are still seen as ‘less than’ when compared to men? My take would be yes, yes and yes. And so, Sheryl Sandberg, I exhort you – woman to woman – to sit at your next board meeting and drag the men that you work with kicking and screaming into the 21st century by outlining to them that women are people and gender-based hate speech has no place on your platform. As you yourself stated in your book 'more female leadership will lead to fairer treatment for all women.' Really Sheryl? Really? Let her know what you think: @sherylsandberg  |
| Town to pilot women’s sports project Posted: 04 Jun 2013 03:00 AM PDT
By now we're probably all aware of the statistics, but they bear repeating: according to a survey conducted by the Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundation (WSFF), over 80 per cent of women do not do enough physical activity to benefit their health. It's not all doom and gloom, though. Conversely, over two million women do regularly participate in sport. This figure has grown by over 500,000 since London 2012, according to Sport England estimates. Where women do take part they tend to be incredibly passionate and committed. But how do we reach the others? And what are the barriers faced by women in their quest to get active? Firstly, sport has to compete with everything else for women's shrinking pot of disposable income. Equally, it has to compete for women's time. This situation is unlikely to change in the near future, but it could be one of the easier obstacles to tackle. Initiatives like the one in Bury, just north of Manchester, should help ease both money and time issues, showing a way forward for other areas of the country. A huge number of sports clubs are still not ‘women friendly’. They have few or no facilities available to women. Or if you're a woman who lives in a small village and not able to get out often, you may have an aerobics class in a village hall once a week, and that's your lot. The only other option may be something like the village cricket club. Even if you do happen to like the idea of this, breaking into a male-dominated club can be intimidating. In reality, the only role available to women will more than likely be to make the tea. There are also more subtle influences at work, which may not be so easy to remedy. These are more ‘state of mind’ issues, more closely bound with how women see themselves and how they feel they are judged. Many women lack the confidence to go to the gym, or even take part in group or team exercise. This is usually because they feel their bodies do not conform to a conventional ‘sporty’ appearance. Very often women equate ‘thin’ with ‘fit’ and do not want to do any exercise that may build muscle mass. Consequently, there may be legions of thin women out there, but they are not necessarily healthy. That's another hurdle we have to overcome, particularly when young girls are bombarded with images of thin models and celebrities every day of their lives. And yet, according to the WSFF, 81 per cent of women surveyed consider women sports stars better role models than celebrities. There can be no doubt that muscle-bound men at gyms are intimidating and off-putting to even the hardiest female who wishes to keep fit. Zumba and step classes are both great forms of exercise, but are not every woman's idea of fun. So what can they do? Is there an alternative? There is still a perception – changing, I hope, but still prevalent – that most team games are for men. Women's football is becoming incredibly popular. With over 275,000 adults taking part each month, it is the third most played team participation sport in the country behind men's football and men's cricket. But how many women would feel confident in going along to their local football club and asking if they could get involved? The plan for Bury is ambitious. The aim is a broad one: to try and reach out to women and girls of all ages and get them moving. Jennie Price, Chief Executive of Sport England, said, "This campaign is about making Bury a place where playing sport comes naturally – because your friends do it, the women you work with do it and, most of all, because you enjoy it." Strictly Come Dancing star, Lisa Riley, who was born in Bury, is backing the campaign. "It's brilliant that Bury is taking centre stage in this campaign to get women more active,” she said. “There'll be something on offer to tempt everyone so I really do encourage all women to give it a go. “My experiences on Strictly showed me how much fun you can have getting moving so I'll definitely be looking to join in some of the activities over the next 12 months.” Sessions will be varied, aimed at catering to all ages, abilities and levels of experience. There will be outdoor bootcamps and runs in public parks, dance and fitness classes, and team sports such as basketball. There will be programmes for older women, for example in pilates, and mothers committed to the school run will be able to take part in cardio-tennis or "school-gate rounders". Results over the year will be analysed with the hope of setting up such programmes throughout the country. It will be interesting to see what works and what does not. Sport England is setting great store by its campaign. "We are determined to make it easier and more appealing for women and girls in Bury to take up sport," said Price. The initiative seems to be concentrating on the physical barriers women face rather than the mental ones, but hopefully education will be part of the package. Let us hope that the effort and the money put in will make this the start of something big. Something in which the whole country can share, and which brings the fun and benefits of sport and movement to thousands of girls and women.  |
| Chime for Change loud and clear Posted: 04 Jun 2013 01:04 AM PDT
Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Ellie Goulding were among those performing in a concert to promote a campaign for education, health and justice for women. The charity, Chime for Change was founded by singer Beyoncé, actress Salma Hayek, and Gucci’s creative director Frida Giannini. Its website hosts information about 120 not-for-profit organisations that promote gender equality, and people can choose which one they wish to support. Speaking about this new campaign, Beyonce said women’s rights had always been close to her heart. “…It’s really important that I do what I can and use my voice. There are many women around the world that don’t have one,” she said. “We have to use our voices and raise awareness and be part of something where we can leave our legacy and help improve this world.” Madonna, who did not perform live at the concert, appeared in a short film about women. “What happens when we educate girls? We empower them. They have jobs, they have opportunities, they know their rights, they have the ability to defend themselves, support their families and be an integral, productive part of the human race,” she said. Among the other artists who performed together at the London event, held at Twickenham rugby stadium, included Rita Ora, Timbaland, Jay Z, Jessie J, and Florence and the Machine. The musical extravaganza raised £2.8 million which will fund approximately 200 projects in 70 countries. The concert, the Sound of Change Live, billed as a “feminist Live Aid” put issues such as genital mutilation, domestic violence, maternal death and adult illiteracy on the news agenda, according to Chloe Hamilton in The Independent . It was broadcast in 150 countries to an estimated audience of one billion people, But here in the UK, the BBC refused to broadcast the event live. One of the event promoters, Harvey Goldsmith said the BBC was far more interested in enjoying its annual ‘jolly’ to Glastonbury. The BBC said it decided to broadcast highlights rather than air the full 4-hour show because the event had commercial sponsors. The concert took place 100 years after Emily Wilding Davison became a martyr for women’s rights, when she died after colliding with a horse on the track at the Epsom Derby.  |
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