Acknowledging equality as a human right

THE word “feminist” has become such an unpopular one. Even strong women tend to distance themselves from the concept of feminism for fear they will somehow be perceived as something they are not… forceful, man-hating.

Having listened recently to a very inspiring address by Emma Watson, Goodwill Ambassador for Women at the United Nations (UN), I realised two things.

Firstly, that men don’t enjoy the benefit of gender equality either. By way of example, society demands they be strong and bold, not shy and sensitive. This distorted sense of what constitutes “being a man” is a contributing factor to depression in many men.

Secondly, the gender-based role imposed on men plays as important a role in perpetuating inequality as the stereotypes imposed on women. If men were not expected to be dominant and controlling, then women would not be expected to be subservient and controlled.

All of us should be free to be who we are.

The UN campaign Watson was launching is called “He for She” and it invites both sexes to the table to work at ending gender inequality, to ensure men and women are afforded the same societal respect.

She makes the point that we, as activists in this space, need to start questioning gender-based assumptions, such as why little girls displaying leadership qualities at an early age are considered “bossy” when boys are not.

Interestingly, this point was also raised by Sheryl Sandberg, CEO of Facebook, when she was interviewed about her book, Lean In, which aims to encourage women to confidently sit at any table they desire to sit at.

According to Sandberg, women are making progress at every level except as leaders.

There aren’t enough of us sitting at the tables where decisions are made.

For us to have a balanced society, women need to be as involved as their male counterparts in the development of policies that govern business and society.

Our failure to feature prominently at this level is due, to some extent, to institutional barriers, but also partly due to ourselves, often as a result of our socialisation.

She raises an interesting point about the “likeability gap”.

Data shows that success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women.

In other words, the more successful women become, the less they are liked by men and women.

This can be attributed to the fact that our society wants people to conform to stereotype.

Ironically, this

likeability

gap holds women back for two reasons – because we don’t like to be disliked and because people want to hire people who are competent and liked. This is just so much easier for men.

I was really challenged by these two powerful women to embrace my inner feminist and to acknowledge that at the heart of the matter is more than just women’s rights, it’s about equality, and equality is a human right.

Veness is the chief executive of the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business. Call 033 345 2747, e-mail ceo@pcb.org.za or log on to www.pcb.org.za.