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International Women's Day 2011

TrustLaw Women, Thomson Reuters and Reuters mark the centenary

3rd & 7 37yd

@Gail Evans I hope it doesn't take quotas.

by Rick King 3/8/2011 6:31:28 PM
@rick king - I think one of the critical needed factors is for all of us to be really aware that we and our systems hold unintentional biases. And to acknowledge that and talk about it. Its just part of being human. many people that I talk to describe themselves as completely gender-neutral, and that's just not possible - for anyone. Without awareness, change won't happen.

by Krista 3/8/2011 6:31:28 PM
@James - The Russian Federation is #40.

by tracey mollins 3/8/2011 6:31:46 PM
@Carla Jones I for one would. Many I hang with do, too.

by Rick King 3/8/2011 6:32:08 PM
some more voices from the Bridge - London

by Natasha Elkington 3/8/2011 6:32:10 PM
@rick.king I know, you are a rare breed my friend!

by Carla Jones 3/8/2011 6:32:44 PM
@tracey are there any countries below russia?

by james 3/8/2011 6:33:07 PM
Carla: i do think that part of why we are stuck is that all of us see this as a zero sum game. If one side wins, the other has to lose. I think we dont make change until we see it as something bigger than us today. Look at the countries where there are constraints against women farmers. Why wouldnt we want as many people in the world as possible adding to the harvest and feeding the hungry. Somehow we are all going to have to think beyond our own small worlds. Thats a tough recipe for many people.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:33:24 PM
I do not know about quotas. There is a great resistance to them over here in North America. They may work in some places but it is a hard sell here. But North American women are not participating in traditional democratic institutions with any parity at all and we have to figure out a way to make that happen.

by tracey mollins 3/8/2011 6:34:27 PM
TrustLaw journalist Emma Batha has this interesting story: India's widows of gun violence fight for rights www.trust.org

by Tim Large @TR_Foundation 3/8/2011 6:34:42 PM
@gail evans - i think the rwanda example is a great one showing that it takes dramatic revolutionary things to move away from established systems and norms. i'm just struggling to see how we provide that compelling counter force in the US.

by Krista 3/8/2011 6:34:48 PM
@tracey mollins Heard some of the same remarks about our talent program's tag lines and both sexes were in the room creating those. Naming is tough - especially across all languages and cultures not to mention various groups.

by Rick King 3/8/2011 6:35:00 PM
Isnt it interesting that Russia is 40 when they have the history of women working all through the Soviet era. May be the proof that it doesnt coome naturally.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:35:21 PM
@James - there are 134 countries in the ranking.

by tracey mollins 3/8/2011 6:35:31 PM
@Carla Jones not that rare.....i hope.

by Rick King 3/8/2011 6:35:51 PM
going to grab some lunch now. back later. great dialogue.

by Rick King 3/8/2011 6:36:49 PM
@tracey wow. that means russia was in the top third for gender equality. i am gobsmacked.

by james 3/8/2011 6:37:19 PM
Ivorian women in anti-Gbagbo march through Abidjan uk.reuters.com

by Julie Mollins 3/8/2011 6:37:42 PM
@rick.king have a good lunch

by james 3/8/2011 6:37:45 PM
I know that it can happen, but it will take everyone of us giving up a little of our culturally held views. And it will take education, education, education. We want all of this to happen naturally, but at best progress has been 'creeping incrementalism'

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:38:16 PM
Today... we are thankful... because we are able to do so much more that what our mothers, grandmothers were able to do... thus our daughters and future generations will have a brighter future if we continue to mentor, encourage and support each other’s dreams... today and everyday lets be thankful we can do so much more!

by Mercedes 3/8/2011 6:40:03 PM
Why does the rest of the world celebrate Internalional Womens Day with more verve than the US. I dont even think i heard it mentioned on the morning news this morning!

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:40:10 PM
@gail that's what tony blair said: "education, education, education". and look where it got us. i think gender equality is happening naturally. my sister, for example, enjoys a level of equality and independence that my mother could never even have dreamed of

by james 3/8/2011 6:41:45 PM
@Gail Evans For many years, IWD was considered a bit of a socialist holiday and we know how we in the U.S. have a horror of socialism ;-)

by Laura Trumbull 3/8/2011 6:41:52 PM
In terms of the rankings, it is interesting to see how countries move over time. Canada was #5 in 2005, down to #25 last year and pipped up 5 spaces this year. Like the United States, Canada’s strength lies in educational attainment and economic participation. Our weaknesses are in income gap, political power gaps and "glass ceilings." that is where the Scandinavians are doing better than us. The US was #31 in 2009 btw. So moving in the right direction.

by tracey mollins 3/8/2011 6:41:53 PM
Ivorian women in anti-Gbagbo march through Abidjan ow.ly #iwd #ivorycoast

by jmollins via twitter 3/8/2011 6:41:56 PM
Ivorian women in anti-Gbagbo march through Abidjan ow.ly #iwd #ivorycoast

by women_on_iwd via twitter 3/8/2011 6:41:57 PM
Meercedes: i love your view, but i worry we have said that for every decade for the past 50 years. And the numbers look like we are working harder, but not doing that much better. The idea that women will not have pay equity until 2056 is a joke rather than a government projection. I want my granddaughters to get the same part of the pie as my granddsons.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:43:20 PM
@gail @laura indeed 8th march is one of ther biggest public holidays of the year in the former Soviet Union. they have had a two day holiday this week to mark international women's day

by james 3/8/2011 6:43:39 PM
@james I do think that sometimes equality does happen naturally, but mostly I think it's because of market pressures. Things don't improve because they should, they improve because there is some other reason that drives the improvement.

by Laura Trumbull 3/8/2011 6:43:54 PM
Laura: you got the answer. i never thought of the origins of womens day

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:44:04 PM
@Gail Wikipedia used to claim that it came about because of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire but the first IWD predates that. But it was definitely a worker-oriented event and its continued popularity in Eastern Europe, etc., supports that to some extent.

by Laura Trumbull 3/8/2011 6:45:23 PM
I have a different view of education. In the matter of gender and race, we dont have honest open discussions. We declare that we are not sexist or racist and assume that sexism and racism will naturally disappear. I dont think until we understand difference, will we be able to get to sameness.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:46:20 PM
@James - i am trying to figure out Russia's rank - it seems that they are strong in educational attainment and in having women working across many fields. I need to read more to be sure why. But you know what they say about statistics...

by tracey mollins 3/8/2011 6:46:39 PM
Tracey: remember that women worked in every field during the soviet era. Some of that history has to still be ingrained in the society,

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:48:13 PM
As a statistician, I love the numbers, but I don't want us to forget that in many countries where women hold a large % of what we consider desirable jobs, those jobs are less desirable in those countries which is why the women are able to hold them.

by Susan Davis-Ali 3/8/2011 6:48:25 PM
@Gail There has been a lot of fascinating work done on implicit bias. Having sat in an 8th grade English classroom and watched the male teacher fail to call on a single girl over the course of an hour's lesson, I could see the message it sent to the girls (you're not worth hearing from) but I'm quite sure the teacher, if asked, would not have even realized that he did it.

by Laura Trumbull 3/8/2011 6:48:29 PM
@gail evans; Agree about education. If we don't confront and deal with our own biases, it will always be somebody else's issue and nothing will be solved.

by Krista 3/8/2011 6:49:34 PM
Laura: i think an important part of teachers education has to be understanding gender. Do you know that boys hearing is not as acute as girls in those early years. If the elementary school teacher is a soft spoken woman and the boys sit together in the back, is it surprising that they get in trouble for not paying attention. I actually think that if the teachers were more aware of gender differences in children, we would have many fewer children who were identified as ADD or ADHD.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:51:23 PM
I taught sociology of education for a fews years at U of Michigan. You don't have to convince me that our education system does not favor our girls - especially in math and science. Personally frustruating for me because I have a 6th grade daughter.

by Susan Davis-Ali 3/8/2011 6:51:24 PM
Signing off. Thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue. Gail - a great big thank you for participating and continuing to move forward the discussion about women & leadership.

by Krista 3/8/2011 6:51:53 PM
Great talking to all of you. I will try to come back later.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:52:12 PM
Have a wonderful Women's Day.

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:52:23 PM
Celebrate

by Gail Evans 3/8/2011 6:52:39 PM
A selection of our best pictures from around the world as people mark International Women's Day www.reuters.com

by Corinne Perkins 3/8/2011 6:52:43 PM