{"id":11081,"date":"2016-06-24T15:10:44","date_gmt":"2016-06-24T15:10:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/?p=11081"},"modified":"2018-05-08T20:01:31","modified_gmt":"2018-05-08T20:01:31","slug":"easy-equality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fiualumni.com\/stay-connected\/alumni-news\/newsroom\/index.php\/2016\/06\/24\/easy-equality\/","title":{"rendered":"Easy Equality"},"content":{"rendered":"

On June 7, 2016, Patricia Arquette spoke at the Women in Technology International Conference (WITI) in San Jose, California. I listened to Ms. Arquette cover many topics near and dear to her heart, spouting off various statistics many of us are already familiar with: Women making less money than men doing the same job, women stuck in poverty with no hope of rising out of it, the lack of public policy and protections for pregnant women, the continuing proliferation of sexual assaults on women and the thousands of rape kits that are discarded every year.<\/p>\n

She encouraged the audience to write to Congress to demand they pass the Equal Rights Amendment<\/a>. She also informed us that \u201cWomen are not hot\u201d – apparently even a Democrat in power told her recently. She said it was up to us to make women\u2019s issues important. And she made a few plugs for her friend\u2019s documentary, \u201cEqual Means Equal,\u201d which she indicated will make women even angrier. (Yay!)<\/p>\n

She went on to say that it was going to take drastic steps to bring about real equality for women. She pointed out that these necessary steps will feel really weird, shocking and uncomfortable. According to Ms. Arquette, running at our current pace, we will have to wait 40 to 100+ years for the gender pay gap to close. Yep, it won\u2019t be fixed until after we die. That was a statistic I had not heard before. Drastic steps scare people – especially women – whom have been conditioned to be demure, accommodating and nice. So there is a strong chance that no one will do anything. There are so many men in power who don\u2019t care, or don\u2019t notice, and so many women are too afraid to speak up.<\/p>\n

I commend Ms. Arquette for using her celebrity influence to elevate these issues. I have often pointed to a lack of support among women as one key factor in why the Women\u2019s Rights Movement has been marching in place for so long. Women, historically, were threatened by the mere presence of a smart, beautiful woman. Why? That woman could win the affections of the man they depended on for food and shelter. So instead of lifting them up, they would tear other women down in self-defense. In the office, if a woman is depending on a man (or men) for a promotion, and they perceive only one woman can be promoted; you have the same dynamic at play. This cave woman instinct is still in many of us. The next time you feel jealous, I challenge you to think about it this way: If you can feed yourself and put a roof over your head, why are you feeling threatened by other women? Seriously?<\/p>\n

I work primarily with hundreds of large alumni and professional associations. Their members are college educated and the female members often lament about the difficulties they experience climbing their corporate ladders. They feel like their voices are not heard, their contributions are devalued and they are often over-looked for promotions. They struggle to find mentors and they do not have a male sponsor advocating for their promotions in board meetings.<\/p>\n

I know there are some easy ways to enact real change in these types of organizations, which don\u2019t require actions that scare women, like militant marches, political protests or complaints filed to H.R. For kicks, I am giving it an ironic description: \u201cEasy Equality.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Below are eight actions I do both in and outside of my company to help elevate women (and men) in corporations and associations:<\/p>\n

EASY EQUALITY<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n