#TimesUp means equal representation
Alan Webber’s op-ed in The New Mexican (“No more time to waste: Women deserve respect,” My View, Jan. 14) attempts to co-opt or join the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. It fails.
If you haven’t been to the #TimesUp website, go now. It’s beautifully designed, smart and useful. Among a comprehensive landing page of resources and information is a clear list of “What you can do,” and includes eight things that all people can do to make a difference. No. 6 is the one most relevant and easy for a person in power to address.
It reads: “If you are part of an organization, look at the workforce and the leadership (management, officers, board of directors). Does it reflect the market where you operate and the world we live in? If not, ask why not and do something to move it closer to that goal.”
Alan’s suggestions don’t even touch it.
Nothing in his op-ed discusses women sharing the power of governance.
The opinions and solutions he lists sound nice. Of course, we should support policies that protect women and educate workers about sexual harassment. Of course, women should be safe. Of course, women, and all people, should be protected from harassment and discrimination in the workplace. That’s a baseline. A baseline that few places have reached, but a baseline nonetheless.
A women’s advisory council may sound nice, and some cities may have reported improvements when they have one, but the very suggestion of such a thing is paternalistic. True equality is a seat at every table; not a rubber stamp after a policy is enacted or an invitation to a meeting when it’s perceived that “women’s” issues might be raised. True equality is an equal distribution of power. Power is distributed equally when everyone is represented at every table.
As a participant in one of these forums, I have pushed Alan on this topic and asked him to put his money where his mouth is, and embrace the notion that a government should reflect its population. It’s disheartening to see that he doesn’t seem to actually understand the concept.
Santa Fe is a beautiful, exciting and diverse city. That diversity must be represented throughout our city government. That means that more than half of all seats should be filled by women because more than half of our city is made up of women.
Also, women’s rights are human rights. Native rights are human rights. LGBTQ rights are human rights. Black rights are human rights. Children’s rights are human rights. Human rights are human’s work. It is not women’s work to fix women’s rights. Human rights are on all of us. Government must reflect us all, equally. Diversity has to be at every table and in every committee, not just those that are convenient for the status quo.
Kimberly Corbitt owns two businesses in Santa Fe, is a mother of two and prefers red.