International Women’s Day 2022 – Break the Bias
Imagine a gender equal world.
A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
A world that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
A world where difference is valued and celebrated.
Together we can forge women's equality.
Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias.
This is the theme for International Women’s Day 2022, and it’s a good one. Bias exists in communities, workplaces and educational institutions. The 2020 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Gender Social Norms Index found that 9 in 10 men and women across 75 countries were in some way biased against women.
The report covers people’s attitudes toward leadership, the right to jobs, and intimate partner violence, among other issues. Around half of people thought men make better political leaders, and more than 4 in 10 that men have more right to a job when employment is scarce. Shockingly, nearly 3 in 10 people still believe a man is justified in beating his wife.
More subtle forms of bias
Aside from these obvious forms of sexism, stereotyping can cause real harm to whichever group it is applied to. In the case of women, historically the overarching stereotype has been that we can’t. We can’t do certain jobs, think a certain way, be strong leaders, control our emotions or perform to as high a level as men in sport. Stereotypes can be so pervasive that ultimately, they may lead to women and girls holding themselves back, also believing that they can’t.
Even some of the less obviously negative stereotypes, such as women being good at multitasking, can put us on an uneven playing field. A 2019 study by Hirsch et al. found that, when asked to perform simultaneous tasks, men and women perform equally as poorly.
Lizz recently attended a workshop called ‘Women in Leadership – Techniques and Pathways to Senior Roles’ run by the awe-inspiring Sue Liburd MBE DL. When asked about multitasking, many of the participants admitted that they can’t, or don’t. Instead, they happen to be people that are very good at managing our time. Perhaps this seems more impressive in women because, outside of work, they are simply expected to do more. The burden of domestic responsibilities placed on women can ultimately prevent them from performing as well in work, or cause them to leave employment all together, and so the gender gap widens.
Stereotypes can also be harmful within the workplace, resulting in duties being unfairly assigned. Again, taking multitasking as an example, many women we know are frequently asked to take minutes in meetings. This is a difficult and mentally tiring exercise which can prevent the minute-taker from participating effectively in the meeting and we’ve met a few women who actively refuse to do it. Hirsch’s study found that performing simultaneous tasks or switching between two quickly cost men and women equally in terms of performance. If they do it just as well, perhaps it’s time to ask a man to take the minutes and allow more women to use their seat at the table to the best of their ability?
Girls in sport
For many who have watched Maiden on Netflix about skipper Tracy Edwards leading the first all-female crew in a famous race around the world, a journalist describing them as ‘tarts in a tin can’ with ‘nothing to show that they would ever really be acknowledged for anything other than failure’ will have been particularly galling.
Reframing sport for teenage girls: Tackling teenage disengagement was a survey by Women in Sport of over 4000 boys and girls aged 11–18 years old. The report found that:
boys and girls were equal in their understanding of the benefits of exercise and in their desire to be active.
just 3 in 10 girls enjoy physical activity compared with 4 in 10 boys.
after leaving primary school, 4 in 10 girls say they are ‘no longer sporty’ compared with 2 in 10 boys.
4 in 10 girls identify as being ‘sporty now’, compared with more than 6 in 10 boys.
Source: Women in Sport (2021) Reframing sport for teenage girls: Tackling teenage disengagement
Girls don’t lack sporting role-models – inspiring women do exist but, again because of bias in what constitutes ‘public interest’, they are often less visible.
Instead, Women in Sport found the main reason for disengagement to be motivation, rather than a change in priorities, a stereotype the organisation is keen to dispel. Enjoyment is also affected by negative attitudes such as a lack of self-belief, lower confidence, feeling judged and, alarmingly, not feeling safe outdoors.
The community has a big role to play in encouraging girls to engage with physical activity and to introduce them to opportunities. The Women in Sport survey found that boys and girls consider themselves to be equally supported by their mothers, schools and coaches. However, when it came to fathers, 5 in 10 boys felt supported by them, compared with just 3 in 10 girls. Dads are well positioned to be real allies to their daughters in developing their active lives and adventurous spirit.
Women in Sport lay down some principles for success in encouraging girls to continue or take up sport:
No judgement - Take pressure off performance and give freedom simply to play.
Invoke excitement - Bring a sense of adventure and discover.
Clear emotional reward - Reframe achievement as ‘moments of pride’, not winning.
Open eyes to what’s there - Redefine sport as more than school sport.
Build into existing habits - Tap into existing behaviours in other spheres.
Give girls a voice and choice - Allow girls choice and control to feel empowered.
Champion what’s in it for them - Make it about more than just health.
Expand the image of what ‘sporty’ looks like - Create truly relatable role models which inspire.
Reframing ‘sporty’
One of our charities, Outward Bound, certainly has a role to play here. Their focus is on helping young people and children to build confidence, and many come away from an Outward Bound course having had their eyes opened to a host of new activities, and having discovered some strengths they didn’t know they had.
As a team, we hope we can use our platform to show girls and women what ‘normal’ women can achieve, opening people’s eyes to the varying sports that are out there and expanding the scope of what being ‘sporty’ means.
We call on all those around us to combat bias and stereotypes by calling it out when you see it, and championing women and girls in whatever they hope to achieve. Collectively we can #breakthebias