We don’t believe that gender bias continues to be a major problem because we don’t see it until it hits us directly and it will. We have had so many good examples this past year of bias against women that it is clear we have to get on top of this. Even if you don’t experience it personally (which I believe is not possible) then let’s do it for our daughters, granddaughters and other women.
Examples We Cannot Forget
We know gender bias exists in other parts of the world and is often much more dramatic than in the US but it exists in our neighborhoods as well. Remember this was the year the issue of “legitmate rape” and “aspirin between your knees” comments from our political leaders. Todd Aikens reported that women’s bodies can “shutdown” a pregnancy if she is really raped. We need new leaders with more thoughtful perspectives on all citizens. We need women to step into leadership roles.
Former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner refused to recognize his long-standing pattern of sexual harassment. What concerns me is he honestly did not know he was harassing women! He had no clue. LuluLemon Founder, Chip Wilson, bolding said “some women’s bodies just actually don’t work” in his brand of clothes. Good bye Chip.
Do we just shake our heads in disgust and disbelief? That is not enough. We are so conditioned to gender bias that we are programmed to accept it. In this way it is a matter of routine and we do not see it.
Gender Bias Directed At You
If you took the time to step back and reflect on your life and your situation what would gender bias you be aware of? If you stopped your busy life, got quiet and gained some perspective on what you see around you in your life and work? What gender bias are you and the women in your world affected by? Write down what you see because you are programmed to not see this, to forget it and live with it. Write it down. Share it with other women.
We are so programmed that we do not see the real impact and importance the energy of gender bias has on us and every woman we know. It affects how we feel about ourselves, how we think, act and the choices we make. To change this we must come out of unconsciousness and become aware. For the most part there is not evil intent but rather just acceptance of an old way of being. It has been part of our culture to look upon women as less than.
A New Millennium
The twenty-first century is the millennium of the two (feminine). The last century was the millennium of the one (male). When we decide to become conscious and aware of what gender bias is from very subtle familiar ways to the most dramatic then the energy women experience will change. We have to create the change. Who else will? Really who will? That change begins within us. How can we be different?
Know Our Biases
Do we find that we act and react with gender bias ourselves? What is our view of women? Some of our bias is conscious though perhaps not deliberate. Most is unconscious and automatic. Recently I was accepting bids from web designers to upgrade my website. I expected the bid from a woman to be lower but believed the work done by the men would be better. All of this was unconsciously in my mind – my gender bias. As I went through the process it turned out the woman charged more but more importantly she did not present herself as well. That is the topic of another blog on our value.
Sara
A young woman was recently promoted in a company she has been in a short time. She loves her work but struggles with the corporate culture. The men have offices and the women (all of them) are in cubicles in the center. Sara was promoted to a management position because since she started the local office has doubled its revenue. They expect her to work hard, smile and thank her for her good work but the credit will go to the general manager (male) regardless of his incompetency. She is struggling with the choices she has going forward. Sara is sitting in a hotbed of gender bias.
Agent for Change
What are her choices? Create change from within or leave. I vote for being an agent for change. We cannot walk away from or avoid gender bias. We have to face it where it is and be a change agent. We do not have to do it alone. Raise the awareness of other women. Get them into agreement to make a change. The power of a group agreement is greater than an individual. It’s physics!
Gender Inequity in Business
I am on a committee to discuss gender equity in corporations in San Francisco. Why does this committee exist? This group is needed because gender inequity is rampant in businesses around the world. We are working with businesses that have set gender equity as a priority and hope to create standards for all companies. Gender inequity is common in all businesses. Women are paid less, expected to do more and are not promoted. A good book on this is “Know Your Value” by Mika Brezinski.
Change Starts With You
The change starts today with you and every other woman who is willing to become aware and heal herself with this awareness. It is not a small energy we sit in even if we are unconscious to it. The energy of gender bias affects us in body, mind and spirit everyday even if we do not see it. If we don’t change then we help perpetuate the energy of bias. Add your energy to awareness and change instead. You choose.
Tell Your Stories
Tell your stories about where you see gender bias in subtle or not so subtle ways. Let’s talk about it. Open our eyes. Stop accepting it. Raise the awareness of everyone every day.
Kay