Catherine Mayer, one of the co-founders of the Women’s Equality Party, plays an active role in the movement towards equality in the UK. She recently wrote a book, Attack of the Fifty Foot Women, about the benefits equality would have on everyone, not just females. As a prominent figure in the UK, she was interviewed by a local publication about her feelings on equality and the role we all play in achieving it.
“The Women’s Equality Party has seven core aims: equal representation, equal pay, an education system that combats gender stereotyping instead of blindly pushing girls towards “female” subjects and boys into STEM, healthcare attuned to the needs of women, shared parenting and caregiving, equal treatment by and in the media, and an end to violence against women.”
Mayer wants women to have the opportunity to achieve whatever they are passionate about. She also highlights the importance of people’s perceptions of equality and real social change over singular political change. Mayer is passionate about these changes and works towards them every day. She believes if we first change how people perceive gender equality, then we can more easily achieve it.
She further went on to discuss her book, in which she argues that equality would actually benefit both men and women. She cited her own research.
“One reason male-dominated businesses and institutions perform poorly is that they are missing out on half the talent they could recruit. Another is that they fall into groupthink and miss the perspectives and experiences and connection with the wider population women would bring to the table.”
While this may not always lead to poor performance, without including women in the conversation, many businesses could be missing out on a significant perspective. It is generally the case that a diverse team is able to consider more alternatives and outcomes because of their different experiences, and the same is the case with men and women.
Though we are all equal, we each experience vastly different things day to day. Without considering half of all human experience, businesses and people in general could struggle from a narrow perspective.
The movement towards equality is all about changing assumptions, whether they belong to men or women. As soon as we all realize that equality is the only way for us all to thrive, we will finally be able to truly reach it.
Featured Image by Women’s Equality Party on Flickr
Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
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