Bella Happy #IWD2017

feminism

Here’s our top ten of the best ideas projects and protests from International Women’s Day 2017 …

1. Here’s a brilliant piece from Clash Music on Women in Music Journalism (and much more): “Nepotism has always been rife in the media, and that’s by no means gone, but the theory is that online music journalism is meritocratic – everyone has access to the music and contacts they need and that allows the best quality writing to shine through. Where women may have been unwelcome in the past, barriers have been removed, and there are now even blogs and publications, such as Wears The Trousers – which look at music exclusively from a female-focused perspective.

Rhiannon Lucy Coslett and Holly Baxter run The Vagenda – a renowned and often hilarious blog looking at feminism and women’s issues. Many of the challenges and biases they’ve encountered whilst making their initial steps into journalism strike a chord with the world of music writing. They too believe that the rise of the internet has led to more chances for women writers: “It gives women who ordinarily wouldn’t have a voice the opportunity to share their experiences, and that’s always been what feminism was truly about.” However, old habits die hard, and a recent study by Women in Journalism (WiJ) found that in British national newspapers, 78% of front-page articles were written by men, and that men accounted for 84% of all people mentioned or quoted in those lead pieces. Rhiannon and Holly hope the tide may turn sooner rather than later: “Looking at the statistics is pretty discouraging, but we do hold out hope. As things become increasingly internet-based then it’s more likely that we’ll see a change.” Read the full article here.

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2. From Women 5050: “Let’s #BeBoldForChange by implementing quotas to promote women with merit and ambition to the jobs they deserve to be in.” Join them at Women 5050.

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3. Ten women have been inducted into the Saltire Society’s Outstanding Women of Scotland hall of fame. The Saltire Society is a “non-political membership organisation celebrating Scottish imagination in all its forms”.

It created the “Outstanding Women of Scotland” community in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library.  The list is as follows:

  • Forensic anthropologist, anatomist and academic, Professor Dame Sue Black
  • Writer, performer, poet and teacher Jo Clifford.
  • Singer and songwriter Horse Macdonald.
  • Freelance dance artist Rosina Bonsu.
  • Writer and critic Joyce McMillan.
  • Radiographer, skier and climber Myrtle Simpson.
  • Political activist and co-founder of the Glasgow Girls Roza Salih.
  • Performance artist, choreographer, maker, teacher and speaker Caroline Bowditch.
  • Journalist, writer producer and community leader Remzije Sherifi.
  • Artist and teacher Sam Ainsley

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4. Support the Women’s Quilt project: “The Women’s Quilt was inspired by the 598 women who were killed by their partners or ex-partners between 2009 and 2015. Our object is to raise awareness of domestic abuse and to commemorate those women. You can find our project group on Facebook- search ‘The Women’s Quilt ‘. Go here to donate.

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5. Tech Crunch It was recently uncovered that nearly 50% of a sample of female tech professionals, within public and private sector organisations, were actively discouraged from working in tech by those close to them.

  • 50% women in tech were actively discouraged from entering into a technology career, by people close to them
  • 76% did not view technology as an attractive career path at school but almost 100% of them have enjoyed an exciting career in tech.  
  • 80% of women say that they think that there need to be more role models in tech 
  • Post Brexit faces a chronic digital skills shortage. Lack of gender diversity will contribute to this issue.

Over 80 women contributed to this insightful piece, which gives us an indication of why women are so vastly underrepresented within the field of technology, and account for just 17% of the IT workforce. This video aims to dispell the perception that tech is just for men, with a message from women who work in tech within the UK (from age 18-80). Meet the women who are flying the flag for women in tech and want to encourage more women into tech careers…

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6. Here’s all the women ever to attend Cabinet in the UK

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7.  writes…Women are on strike and rallying in Dublin to overturn Irish abortion ban on

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8. The words of Maya Angelou inspire the #ThisGirlCan project …@ThisGirlCanUK

 

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9. See the brilliant Marginal-Eyes –  are today by mapping the work – paid and unpaid – women do every day. More here.

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10. Rape Crisis Scotland have just launched ‘I Just Froze’, saying: “Help us change assumptions about reactions to rape. There is no right or wrong way to react.” #ijustfroze. More here.

 

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