11 Mar 2022

Diversity Lens - Issue 117

Diversity Lens - Issue 133 Diversity Lens - Issue 132 Diversity Lens - Issue 131

Mar 11

Diversity Lens - Issue 117

Welcome to Diversity Lens.

This week, we wanted to observe International Women's Day on Tuesday by bringing you a newsletter based around women; female leaders, activists and campaigners in the fight for gender equality.

On Tuesday we celebrated the day with a virtual roundtable with speakers from the UK, Zimbabwe, India and the US. With a particular focus on intersectionality, panellists spoke on #BreakingTheBias in their expert field with some fascinating insights. You can catch up on the discussion here, and make sure to follow our social platforms for future events. Diversify your media consumption, expand your world view.

"Femicide detectives: 'Counting bodies is the best place to start'"BBC News

Violence against women comprises a wide range of acts – from verbal harrasment and other forms of emotional abuse, to daily physical or sexual abuse. At the far end of the spectrum is femicide: the murder of a woman.

Pictured above is an example of a "life map", a campaign by the Aldea Foundation in Ecuador. A group of female researchers gather data on the murders of women, whilst also honouring their lives, by mapping out memories of the women. The foundation aim to record the number of femicides - more accurately than the state - but also use them as "social tools" to visualise the issue of femicide, seen in the streets of one's own city.

Femicide is a leading global cause of premature death for women, despite a lack of available data. In the UK alone, a woman is killed by her male partner or former partner every four days. In many countries, statistics are not recorded and it has fallen to action groups identify femicides and fight for justice.

In Turkey, activist group We Will Stop Femicide became investigators in cases the authorities would dismiss. In several cases, their work has lead to convictions of men.

In South Africa, a team of researchers start their work in a mortuary, examining pathology reports and working backwards to identify femicides. They've been recognised by their government who have asked them to create a 'femicide prevention strategy' for the country.

The impact these groups are having is vast, made even more vital when justice systems are still turning a blind eye. President of Aldea Foundation, Geraldina, says: "Violence endures in silence and femicide will continue as long as we remain silent."

Text: IN OTHER NEWS. Background image shows picture of protestors.

Since the Russian invasion, editors of major magazine websites and popular blogs have shifted their focus from lifestyle and fashion to wartime reality. Iryna Taterenko, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Ukraine, realised her team had an important platform to prepare women for practical realities of surviving, after she witnessed a childbirth underground in the Kyiv metro. Examples of recent headlines include "A guide to childbirth at home during the war" and "How to get your acrylic nails off so you can more easily hold a weapon."

"For the first two days of the battle, we didn't know what to do," Iryna Taterenko, editor-in-chief of Marie Claire Ukraine, says. "But then we realised we had a strong resource in our magazine to assist with women's problems."

Make sexual harassment a criminal offence to help tackle violence against women and girls, say 87% of UK women

According to UN Women UK, 71% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public. The majority of women (87%) think the legislation should be altered to make the UK safer for women. Although sexual harassment is not a crime in itself, it is illegal in England and Wales under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. Campaigners say this legislation is "piecemeal" and does not provide adequate protection for women and girls, as evidenced by the incredibly high occurrence rate of sexual assault today.

It's time IWD celebrated the black, masculine women too

72% of bisexual women and 60% of lesbians experienced anxiety for their safety in the last year, compared with 56% of bisexual men and 53% of gay men. As a black, masculine presenting lesbian, Rose Frimpong identifies with this statistic, often wondering whether she is welcome in female-focussed spaces. Rose observes that "Black, female LGBTQ+ voices are constantly left out of mainstream media’s reporting". She looks forward to the day that Black masculine presenting women are celebrated wholeheartedly on International Women's Day, alongside all other equally valid representations of woman.

New campaign sheds light on life with cystic fibrosis

Caitlin Rich created CFTruths, a campaign that sheds light on what it's like to live with cystic fibrosis. CFTruths was inspired by a YouGov poll that revealed 86% of people are unaware that individuals with cystic fibrosis cannot meet in person owing to the danger of transmitting potentially fatal illnesses. The campaign highlights parallels between the pandemic and life with CF, such as social isolation and the worry of contracting a severe virus. "It has always been difficult to get people to understand what it is like to live with CF, but this campaign might help by relating it to our universal experience of the pandemic." Caitlin explained.

Text: ENTER THE WORK SPHERE. Background image shows picture of protestors.

The Inclusive Employer Spotlight: Macmillan Cancer Support

This week’s featured employer, Macmillan Cancer Support, works hard to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. Their belief in care and compassion, extends to their workplace, where everyone is treated with fairness and respect. We couldn’t be more proud to work with them!

Are you looking for an opportunity that’s more than just a job? If you’re ready to explore your potential, browse open roles at Macmillan on Diversifying.io.

Larissa Stupar: “The industry needs to clue-up on the concept of pregnancy and motherhood”

The music industry is a male dominated one, with only 22.4% of songs in the top Billboard 100 between 2012-2017 being performed by women. Larissa Stupar, lead singer of Venom Prison, talks about disclosing her pregnancy to her bandmates and how the music industry as a whole needs to step up and do more for pregnant musicians and crew. Pregnancy and your career can be less conducive in the music industry than many other worlds of work – there is a reason you don’t see many pregnant performing artists and it was this lack of representation that “terrified” Stupar.

Companies with female leaders outperform those dominated by men, data shows

Anneliese Dodds, Labour’s shadow secretary for women and equalities, believes that women should play a key part in the UK's post-pandemic economic recovery. During the coronavirus outbreak, Labour accused the government of disregarding women's issues. According to a Fawcett Society survey, just eight women are now working as CEOs in the FSTE 100, only 14% of executive directorships and 38% of total directorships are held by women. "The problem with the current government is they’re not even tacking women’s concerns”, said Dodds, adding that Labour would create 100,000 government-backed start-ups with an “equal recovery pledge” to ensure female representation.