Women's Views on News |
- Should we celebrate women making the Forbes list?
- In May we ride: together
- My first Reclaim the Night
- Looking at Page Three and breast cancer
| Should we celebrate women making the Forbes list? Posted: 11 Mar 2014 07:20 AM PDT
But what exactly does that mean? 'Girl Power!' the Daily Mail said of the record number of women making the 2014 Forbes list of billionaires. But is that really the message the record sends out? There are indeed a record number of female billionaires on the Forbes list, at 172 that is up 60 per cent from 2012 and 25 per cent from 2013. Forty-two women have made the list for the first time in 2014. They include Facebook CEO Sheryl Sandberg; the CEO of betting firm Bet365 Denise Coates; Nigerian business tycoon Folorunsho Alakija; and the granddaughters of Estee Lauder who are set to take the helm of Clinique this year, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer and Jane Lauder. Forbes is trying to tout this as a win for gender equality, claiming that the female billionaires on the list are also 'wielding their vast influence across multiple spheres' by simultaneously appearing on Forbes' annual 100 Most Powerful Women ranking. Well, at least, ten of them are. Forbes also highlights that nearly one fifth – nearly one fifth! – of women on the list were even instrumental in the building of their own fortunes, a number which has more than doubled in the past three years with 'promising' momentum. However, 'nearly one fifth' also equates to only 32 out of 172 women actually creating their own fortunes, with the rest having inherited their wealth from a spouse or parent. Even Forbes has to admit that women remain in the 'extreme minority' of the 1,080 self-made billionaires on the list. They make up just 1.9 per cent, in fact. Sure, some women are getting wealthier, but very few are doing so by their own means. And sure, some women are making it in traditionally male-dominated industries; however Sandberg is joining Meg Whitman of Hewlett-Packard and they are the only two female technology billionaires on the list. Sure, women are taking more of the global super wealth, but they still only make up 172 of 1,645 listees – roughly 10 per cent. So what is the message we send out by celebrating this as a step towards gender equality? Firstly, if we are fighting for equal representation of women at all levels of society figures such as 10 per cent are simply not enough. Secondly, that the vast majority of female listees inherited rather than earned their wealth promotes the outdated idea that women are only as successful as their family and spousal connections allow them to be. Thirdly, the Forbes list of billionaires, both male and female, reflects another worrying process: the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few. According to a 2014 Oxfam report, almost half of the world's wealth is now owned by just one per cent of the world’s population; and the wealth of that one per cent totals 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world's population. In addition, gaps are widening. Seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years, and the richest one per cent have increased their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries between 1980 and 2012. This extreme economic inequality, Oxfam argues, is not only morally questionable, it also compounds other inequalities, such as those between men and women. A recent BBC report for International Women's Day, 8 March, found that the G20 group of leading industrial nations had no representative in the top 10 countries where women have equal opportunities to participate in economics and politics, health and education. The UK ranked eighteenth and the US ranked twenty third in the world, below countries such as the Phillippines (fifth) and Nicaragua (tenth). The Fawcett Society highlights that both overall economic inequality and women's economic inequality are high in the UK. Women are more likely to be employed in low paid, part-time work, more likely to head a single parent household, likely to have fewer financial assets and more likely to live in poverty, especially in older age. The undeniable truth is that economic inequality is bad for everyone, especially women. In celebrating the successes of a few women at the top, then, do we forget the masses of women struggling at the bottom? If so, the Forbes list makes for disheartening, rather than encouraging, reading.  |
| Posted: 11 Mar 2014 05:03 AM PDT
This year the third CycloFemme is taking place; an event where women come together on two wheels to create change. CycloFemme is an opportunity for cyclists around the world to make a personal commitment to inspire one more woman to ride a bike on Global Women’s Cycling Day, on 11 May. A socially driven grass-roots celebration of women on bikes, CycloFemme is a Global Women’s Cycling Day created to honour the past and the emancipation of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers. CycloFemme also aims to celebrate the present, and the riders who keep it rolling, bringing women’s racing to the forefront, pushing limits, breaking down barriers - and sharing the love of the bike with everyone along the way. An opportunity for positive social change. It was the idea of Girl Bike Love and Language Dept., is sponsored by The League of American Bicyclists, and is powered by women. Girl Bike Love’s founder Sarai Snyder set up CycloFemme in 2012 as a celebration of women on bikes, and the first event saw 163 rides in 14 countries. In 2013, the team numbers more than doubled that, with over 220 rides registered in 32 US states and 30 countries. This year aims to be even bigger. CycloFemme believes that strong communities are built around strong women. That being on a bike brings you closer to your community, to nature, and to yourself. That from action comes change, and from visibility comes reality. And that independence, self-empowerment and personal strength are things we need every day. All that’s as easy as riding a bike. “By reaching out to women and inviting them to join us on a ride we are paving the way to creating our most valuable cycling advocates," said Sarai Snyder. “As mothers, mentors, and teachers, women are the key to influencing future generations. If a mother rides a bike, her children will too. ‘At the core of CycloFemme are the women, children, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers and friends who join us, support us and give this movement momentum.” Registration is now open for 2014. You can participate in an already organised ride, or arrange your own. To find out more about getting involved, click here. And as a keen cyclist I can vouch for the freedom, independence and sense of achievement cycling gives you.  |
| Posted: 11 Mar 2014 04:04 AM PDT
Women in Coventry took part in the first Reclaim the Night march in Coventry City centre for 30 years recently. Over a hundred women attended, proudly carrying placards and banners, marching through the streets of Coventry and chanting loudly. The march was organised by Warwick University Anti-Sexism Society, Coventry University Gender Equality Society, Coventry Women’s Voices and Coventry Feminists, and supported by Unite. The Reclaim the Night marches, which occur at different times throughout the UK, aim to challenge the violence that women experience and declare that women are never to blame for being sexually assaulted, and should not have their behaviours restricted. I had never been to a Reclaim the Night march before – actually I’ve never been to a march before – and at first I felt unsure about shouting loud chants in the street, but soon the feeling of solidarity with the other women gave me the confidence to join in. In Coventry over 30,000 women have been raped or sexually abused in their lifetime; with approximately 2,600 being raped or sexually abused every year. Last year a survey conducted by Coventry Women’s Voices and Coventry University revealed that 61 per cent of women had experienced incidents of harassment within the past 12 months. Almost 40 per cent of women who responded to the survey said they do not feel safe on the streets of Coventry. Types of harassment experienced included wolf whistling, unwanted sexual comments and groping, with the majority – 59 per cent – of incidents occurring on the street. It is against this background that the march was held; doubtless many women on the march have experienced harassment in the city – myself included – and understand the feeling of fear women often experience in public spaces. But standing shoulder to shoulder with one another the fear disappeared; a unified front against the harassment and violence women experience as we move through life. Representatives from various women’s organisations in the city joined in the march, including Coventry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre, Kairos and Foleshill Women’s Training. Speaking before the march, Rosa Parker-Hinton, from Warwick Anti-Sexism Society, said: “Harassment and fear of attack causes women to feel unsafe in public places. “Most women alter their behaviour because of this, avoiding certain places, not going out alone or driving rather than using public transport. “Women are still blamed for being raped and for sexual violence inflicted on them. “A poll found that over a third of the British public surveyed believed that women were sometimes wholly or partly to blame if they were raped due to walking alone at night, how they are dressed, being drunk or other similar factors. “We will march in Coventry to challenge this; to maintain that women are never to blame for being sexually assaulted, and should not have their behaviours restricted, rather than the blame culture being challenged. “We will march for our rights to live free of fear of sexual violence. We will march to Reclaim the Night! “ Coventry’s – first female – leader of the Council, Councillor Anne Lucas, couldn’t attend the event, but sent those marching this message of encouragement: "All sisters have the right to walk our streets – regardless of age or mode of dress. We shouldn't ever feel afraid. Reclaim Coventry's Streets tonight.” And Yvonne Mosquito, Deputy Police Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands spoke as women gathered, emphasising her support, and the need to end violence against women. As the march ended, at the steps of Coventry’s famous cathedral, several women spoke, including some who read poems about their own experiences of violence and harassment. For the first Reclaim the Night march that has been held in the city for such a long time it was amazing to see so many women attending, of all backgrounds and ages, standing together to demand an end to violence against women and the right to feel safe on the streets of our city. Here’s to next year.  |
| Looking at Page Three and breast cancer Posted: 11 Mar 2014 02:09 AM PDT
One of the most talked-about recent stories. A divisive decision. Here I recall some of the week's best analysis. One of the most fiercely critical responses this week came from Fay Schopen, writing for the Guardian, who described the campaign as "nothing but a self-interested and cynical ploy by the newspaper, a childish way of hitting back at the growing chorus of anti-Page 3 voices". As a survivor of cancer herself, she was unconvinced by the argument that it could help encourage more women, particularly young women, to check their breasts. Conversely, someone who did think the campaign might have a positive impact in this way was Gaby Hinsliff, also writing for the Guardian. She argued "there’s no ducking the fact that by asking millions of readers to check regularly for the warning signs of breast cancer, this campaign will probably save lives". However, she remained scathing about Page Three in general, calling it "dated, seedy, juvenile at best and demeaning at worst." Over at the Independent, Felicity Morse agreed that the campaign could encourage more women to check their breasts, but was dismayed by the cynicism shown by the Sun's editors. She wrote, "Taking people's traumatic experiences of cancer and twisting them to foster support for a sexist, outdated institution is low, even by tabloid standards." She questioned the warped logic inherent in suggesting that those anti-Page Three were somehow pro-cancer, and the 'making sexy' of a disease so potentially devastating as cancer. She ended with the moving refrain, "Don't tell me to respect my body on Tuesday, when you disrespect it every other day of the week." Likewise, writing for the Huffington Post, Johanna Sartori was not convinced by the Sun's apparent benevolence, and had been left pondering why the campaign left her so cold. She concluded: "[the campaign was] sneaky and manipulative; it’s a way of getting page 3 onto the front cover by pretending to care about female health, but more than that, the linking of a life threatening disease with cheap titillation is horrible." Like Felicity Morse, she was clear in her argument that cancer is in no way a 'sexy' disease. She reflected on the underlying message and motive behind the campaign: "What I understand from The Sun today is that women should check their breasts to keep them safe for exploitation; that actually breast cancer is worth fighting so that there are more breasts available to objectify. Once you understand that, the front page makes perfect sense." As with all the other commentators summarised above, Sarah Ditum, for the New Statesmen, was disgusted by the cynicism shown by the Sun, citing the growing support for the 'No More Page Three' campaign, who also released a statement on the matter, as something the newspaper must now be viewing as a real threat. However, she added to the analysis a critique of what, in her view, amounts to "single-organ fetishism". Describing how "it can be extraordinarily traumatic to lose a breast when you live in a culture that thinks a woman only exists if she's got the wherewithal to fill a bra", she asked of the Sun's editor, David Dinsmore, "Did he realise that the Sun's breast fixation might be an insult to these survivors?". For the Telegraph, Women's Editor, Emma Barnett agreed that the campaign patently did not genuinely have the best interests of women at heart: "Page 3 was designed by men for men… this campaign exists in a space dominated by women, but not for women."  |
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