Crossing the gender equality chasm

International Women’s Day 2020 started with the theme “Each for Equal” - actualising our rights irrespective of our gender, fighting the biases and challenging the stereotypes that exist even in today’s day and era. If we need to bring holistic change, marginalising gender issues just to one particular group is not going to be sufficient. I believe that the issue is no longer just about women but people of any gender who are fighting against these biases. It is about equality; it is about enabling a world where people are not treated differently just based on their gender.

At Objective, we celebrate equality every day; by being there for each other, supporting each other, providing a culture where people feel safe to voice their opinion without being afraid to be judged. People feel enabled irrespective of their gender.

To mark International Women’s day celebration, we invited two influential guest speakers to share their experiences who have challenged the norms and fought their way to be where they are today.

Sarah Cummings - Co-founder and CEO of Teach Ted, Director of Playgroup Victoria and Financial Consultant who is also a parent and a wife shared her experience of balancing the juggle. She emphasised that being curious and saying yes to the opportunities which energise you is crucial. Her unconventional path to success provided an inspiring insight that success does not always come in one form, there is no one right way. It is not always about climbing the ladder of corporate hierarchies but finding a right fit where you are celebrated.

Amanda Meehan - Head of Client Relationships at Grace Papers and a great advocate of gender equity provided powerful insights on better defining gender equality through advancement of women and changing role of men.

Her emphasis was towards making the workplace more inclusive to achieve gender equity and addressing it as a gender-neutral issue rather than focusing solely on women. Making this issue a business imperative for modern workplace rather than a perk or accommodation for any one group and changing narrative of not only working women but also men so that all people can work better were her key points. Gender stereotypes, ambition, parental wall and flexibility were highlighted as major touchpoints contributing to gender equity issues.

Achieving a society where everyone is equal irrespective of their gender

We know we have come a long way – be it fighting biases of being stereotyped based on gender (for example, women as caregiver and men as breadwinner) or challenging the status quo of gender definition through Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) social movements. Fighting against gender equity issues in context of different countries and societies that we live in. The end goal is still the same, achieving a society where everyone is equal irrespective of their gender.

Achieving a society where you would not have to do things differently just because of your gender. We know the battle is on-going since years. But Women’s day is not only about these battles. It is also about celebration, a retrospective of how far we have come. It is about acknowledging what we need to accomplish so our future generations feel equally enabled. It is about “Each for Equal”.