What does IWD stand for?
It's not International White women's Day by the way
Ever had writer’s block so bad you couldn’t get a word out?
I have. It happened last month.
Ahead of International Women’s Day (IWD), I was brainstorming brands that are pushing for gender equity.
You know, organisations that are properly progressive, not performative.
So I got a big piece of paper out. Rolled my sleeves up (literally and metaphorically) and then I just… couldn’t think of any.
Too few companies “walk the walk.”
But you can!
I’ve got a few suggestions for how brands can step up this IWD.
Avoid tokenism
IWD is the perfect time to look like an equitable employer… by forcing a few of your women employees into an awkward photo opportunity and slapping that on social. Not a good look.
It’s not enough to share a blog post about The One Single Woman promoted to a management position last year. It’s not Highlander (“There can only be one”).
You can’t use a single woman’s success story as evidence of gender justice. Just like you can’t use Oprah Winfrey or Barack Obama to argue that racism’s over.
This kind of tokenism reminds me of many corporate DEI strategies.
They exist to make companies look better: they don’t make life better for minoritised staff.
Save the energy you were going to use live-tweeting your #GenderEqualityBrunch.
And put it into understanding why women aren’t thriving in your workplace instead.
Spotlight the most affected people
People are experts in the issues they experience.
If you don’t experience it, don’t take up space talking about it.
“Sometimes being a good ally is about opening the door for someone instead of insisting that your voice is the only one that matters.”
Mikki Kendall, Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot
Stop talking unless you’re taking action
Comms can be performative or purposeful.
You can spend a ton of time, money and energy on performative nonsense (I know, I’ve helped do it!). Or just a little more effort into being purposeful.
Personally, I’d rather brands stay quiet if they’re not making meaningful changes.
If you’re not paying minoritised groups - including marginalised genders - fairly, don’t pipe up on IWD. Seriously, save yourself the hassle.
If you’re not paying minoritised groups - including marginalised genders - fairly, don’t pipe up on IWD. Seriously, save yourself the hassle.
It only takes a scroll through Twitter’s fabulous Gender Pay Gap bot feed to see: most brands should step back from their keyboards on IWD.
Show your receipts
Talk about your feminist credentials, by all means. But you need to give evidence.
If you look like you’re doing the Most, and you’re actually doing the Worst, people will find that out.
Let’s take a look at Unilever. Unilever is “determined to achieve a culture where everyone can thrive, a culture where all individuals are treated fairly and respectfully.”
Sounds equitable right? Thanks to Mary Waweru’s brilliant post, I learned there’s much more to it.
From Mary, I learned that:
Supervisors sexually abused more than 70 women on Kenyan tea farms
These farms supply PG Tips, Lipton and Sainsbury's Red Label,
They were owned for many years by Unilever and James Finlay & Co.
Those same brands chirpily tweet things like:
Happy #InternationalWomensDay to all the amazing women in our communi-tea! […] Drop a RT & tag a woman who deserves a cuppa and we'll pick a few lucky winners - PG Tips, 2023.
Repeat after us, communi-tea: You are sexy, you are powerful, and you are kind. It may be International Women's Day but we're here to support you with a cuppa every single day. #InternationalWomensDay - Lipton, 2022.
The theme of International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity. We recognise that gender equity, compared to gender equality, isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a must-have - Sainsbury’s, 2023.
Ironically, Unilever announced they’d won gold for being a leading LGBTQ+ employer just four days before the BBC article was published.
This isn’t an isolated story. As well as widespread gender-based violence against women workers, most product-based companies depend on economically exploiting women in the Majority World.
Don’t boast about the record profits you made, or the record bonuses paid to white women managers, if you bought those profits by exploiting women elsewhere.
IWD isn’t International White Women’s Day
Although it certainly seems that way.
Programmes intended to support women often end up serving only a small subsection of women.
Studies show that white women benefit more from affirmative action policies than any other group, for example.
“If your feminism is not intersectional, it is just white supremacy wearing a pink bow” - Shivaun Elizabeth.
“If your feminism is not intersectional, it is just white supremacy wearing a pink bow” - Shivaun Elizabeth
IWD celebrations often follow a familiar story arc.
The characters: white women.
The plot: white women’s concerns.
The key themes: income parity with white men (and becoming a #GirlBoss).
Is it well-intentioned? Sure. The overall gender pay gap is 7.7% in the UK.
Is it enough? No.
“This is how white supremacy operates within feminism, with upper-middle-class white women at the top ensuring that the credentials that upper-middle-class white women have remain the most valued criteria within feminism itself.”
― Rafia Zakaria, Against White Feminism: Notes on Disruption
Let’s consider some more stats:
Non-UK-born Black employees are paid 12% less than UK-born white workers,
Disabled folk are paid 13.8% less than abled people,
Autistic people are paid 33.5% less than allistic (not autistic) people.
Equity runs deeper than advancing white women’s privilege. IWD needs to be about the wants and needs of Black, working-class, trans, gender-non-conforming and other marginalised women. Front and centre.
Intersectionality is not a buzzword
A Black woman isn’t Black in the morning and a woman in the evening, so she doesn’t experience anti-Black racism and sexism separately.
She experiences the intersection of anti-Black racism and sexism (sometimes called misogynoir, coined by Moya Bailey).
“My feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit" - Flavia Dzodan
Don’t try to treat sexism (or any other -ism) as a standalone issue. When we do that, we end up focusing on how sexism affects white women only.
Look for people at the intersections of different -isms. Focus on their stories, wants and needs.
When we focus on the most marginalised people, we still help everybody else. But we don’t make the mistake of designing for the group that least needs our support.
"If Black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression." - Combahee River Collective
So who are the most affected women? It will depend on where you are, and what you work on.
In my world, it’s the women of Palestine, DRC, Ethiopia and in other places where people are under attack so that Western countries can benefit.
Pay equity and sexual harassment are hugely, hugely important. I care deeply about them. But I’m not going to act like they are the beginning and the end of the injustices that women experience.
If you’re moved by Barbie’s Oscar nominations, but not for the women of Palestine who are being starved, bombed and going through Caesarean sections without pain relief? That’s white supremacy wearing a pink bow, to quote Shivaun Elizabeth.
Be specific
I’ve talked about gender pay gap statistics, but the truth is we don’t really understand most of the gender pay gaps.
Because data usually speaks about men and women only.
There are lots of genders, not just two. For example, you can be non-binary, genderfluid, agender, genderqueer.
If you’re using stats on men and women, make it clear that there is gender diversity beyond the binary which these stats don’t capture.
Cis men and women are often treated as the norm, but they are just part of the picture. Say that. You could say “this data is about women, and people who are perceived as women.”
Who gets to tell their story?
This IWD, consider whose story is in the spotlight. If you’re centring white women’s wants, needs and stories, shift the focus.
You’ll tell a much richer story if you’re looking to a whole diversity of women.
Centre multiply minoritised people, including:
Black women
trans women
LGTBQIA+ women
migrant women
disabled and neurodivergent women.
Not too tricky, is it?
I put together a list of amazing people you can hire to speak to your team for IWD, or any other time.
Writing this list, I was overwhelmed with awe and admiration. There are people on this list who are experts in:
Grief and loss,
Menopause,
Disability inclusion at work,
Anti-racist brand and communications,
Inclusive recruitment,
Colour therapy,
Mental health and wellbeing,
And so much more!
Paid bookings only, obviously.
I spent 17 hours researching and building this list of speakers, but there will still be countless amazing people I’ve left out.
Do me a favour and share it with anyone you know who has a learning and development budget? Thank you!
ESSENTIAL ADVICE!! thank you ettie. The amount of bullshit i've seen this week is horrific