The year I turned 35, I went from being a skeptic of women-only initiatives to a contributor for a media outlet dedicated to women in tech.
Why are women’s initiatives useful for women? How can getting together with other women make our lives easier? I’ve often wondered about the value of such meetings. Why do women, who are so often the victims of discrimination, sexism or injustice in society, on the street or in their jobs, decide to put men aside?
I come from France, where the status of women is somewhat different from what I’ve experienced over the past three years in Quebec. Over there, communitarianism has grown stronger for a variety of reasons, many of them political and economic. When I moved to Quebec, I was lucky enough to be part of an environment that I felt was fair. I felt more respected as a woman, recognized in my profession for my skills and qualities, whereas in my past experiences, my ideas were little or not heard. It’s common to see women in positions of responsibility in large companies, even if the pay gap with men persists. Sexism is less prevalent, at least in my day-to-day Montreal life.
As time goes by, I discover women-only initiatives such as Women in Science, Women in Tech, Women & the Web. At first glance, these organizations echoed what I’d experienced across the Atlantic. I don’t understand how mentalities can change if we maintain this marginality.
Then I got my foot in the door through my work. At the time, I was working for a radio station and I received a lot of press releases. I also met experts who came into the studio to record interviews. Then I discovered the Amplify initiative, the American version of the Keychange initiative in Europe, which works to give greater visibility to women artists. It was through my current job at a festival that I got to know this organization better. I realized just how important it is for the artistic community and for women. In 2019, in Quebec, the proportion of all-female artists or groups at festivals is still only 23%, according to Radio-Canada’s method of analysis. In the United States, women accounted for 14% of festival programming in 2018, according to the Keychange PRS Foundation report.
My vision is maturing and I’m taking the plunge in spring 2019, joining URelles’ team of female collaborators. From now on, I want to make a contribution. I want to write to showcase these actions. That will be my contribution.
These years of observation have made me realize just how vital these initiatives are in raising the profile of women in environments where they are in the minority. According to one report, women feel less safe than men in OECD countries, while accounting for 86% of victims of sexual assault. In the sciences, according to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, women accounted for just 28.8% of employed researchers worldwide in 2015. Turning to politics, across the border in the Trump administration’s Congress, women account for just 19.4% of members (21 in the Senate and 83 in the House of Representatives out of 435).
In bursts
Yes, we need to work on the under-representation of women in certain sectors.
Yes, it’s necessary to get together to have a space in which we feel safe.
Yes, we need to join forces to make our voices more powerful.
And finally, yes, we need to create examples to leave a legacy for younger generations.
