Break the bias
My thoughts on the IWD theme this year
It is International Women’s day week and after seeing so many posts with the hashtags #iwd2022 and #breakthebias on my social media feed, the writer in me felt penning down my thoughts on the theme this year. But I was on my menstrual cycle for the last 3 days and could not spend time after work to finish it up and publish on the same day as that of 8th march. Had it been the earlier version of me, I would have slogged hard to post it on the same day to make it more special but on second thoughts, my mind told me why do you need to make it look so perfect and special about the particular date, why can’t it go live on any other day than 8th of March and still have the same impact. Am I being biased with my body by not letting it rest when it needs the most? Therefore here I’m, writing this piece on a sunny morning and continuing to celebrate the idea behind Women’s history month not just one day but every day via my thoughts and actions. :)
In this post, I’m going to talk about some personal anecdotes around the theme, how I challenge the bias in and around me, and why I feel we should celebrate gender-neutral thought processes, not just one day but on all days.
PREFACE
A week before the 8th of March, I was going through the IWD official site to look up the theme for this year and the hashtag #breakthebias struck me so much stirring up a lot of emotions in me all at once. The main idea which appealed to me about the theme was the liberating feeling it brought with the word “break”, it is as good as breaking free or smashing the chains we have put around us sometimes from the fear of other people and most often from the fear within us.
My thoughts on #BreaktheBias
For many years, I have received ample opportunities in my corporate life to represent women in technology where I’ve used my voice to talk about the gender pay gap, initiating gender-neutral thought processes at work. Here’s an excerpt from an offline WIT panel discussion I was part of back in 2018 https://tinyurl.com/vkwit
According to unwomen.org, women only make 77 cents for every dollar men earn globally and this wage gap gets higher for women of color, immigrant women, and mothers. The so-called “motherhood penalty” pushes women into the informal economy, casual and part-time work. With the current rate of progress, this article highlights that there is no equal pay until 2069. The same article points out the action needed to bridge the gender pay gap and it says Germany has recently introduced a national minimum wage to tackle its stubborn gender wage gap of 22.4 percent which needs to be backed up by universal social protection.
Given the statistical data that we have for the pay gap and the extrapolated timelines to reach gender parity, many of us may not be around to see the day, but it still feels good to know that we are marching in the right direction and we should do whatever possible to reach there and hand over the baton to the subsequent generation.
I feel that there is nothing wrong with wishing for more, a woman should not be considered greedy or arrogant just because she wants to achieve and bargains for more, the board room culture should always be in the listening mode, where women can raise their voice to negotiate for more, for similar skill sets.
Bias viewpoints that I’ve come across so far
Most of us have come across certain biased viewpoints through our lives and so have I. Below I have put forth a few of them that I found weirdly funny and would like to call them out after many years of their existence in my life.
Knowing and loving cricket game — I’ve been following the game of cricket from childhood like most other Indians would but still when I started my college and during the freshers meet and greet, when I shared with my batchmates that I like to watch cricket — I was quizzed about who’s who in the world of international and domestic cricket.
Sitting until late evening in college campus working for tech fest post-lecture hours — Biased look from hostel staff when arriving just in time for the dinner huffing and puffing and later when I stepped into the corporate world, I remember I had to once sit in the office straight for 14 hours coding for a hackathon and I was bombarded with a series of questions later at home about my safety (at the workplace?)
Two women sitting in a corner are necessarily gossiping — This is a very common stereotype attached to women and most people think women like to gossip. Watch this small video where I interviewed a female colleague on the IWD celebration at work and asked her thoughts on the same.
My actions on #breaking the bias around me —
- Speak for yourself, stand for yourself when no one else does.
- Don’t retaliate, show kindness to those especially who are rough with you.
- Ask for things that you want in your workspace and also in your personal life. It is instilled in women to not ask openly for their wishes and desires.
- Smile — and don’t fret a lot about anything that goes away from you, try to smile and face most of the challenges.
- Create your inner circle — Sometimes it could be your family member or your co-worker. I have a mix of both that helps me get honest feedback as-is with no sugar-coating.
- Stop feeling sorry about every other thing that didn’t go perfectly or as expected and try not to use that word casually in every other sentence.
- Don’t fall into imposter syndrome — Be very firm about your beliefs and trust that you can do it. I always try to be in constant touch with my root to guard my inner self in times of self-doubt.
- Setting boundaries whenever and wherever required — Not replying to an email or text late in the night even when you are online and waiting for the next morning if it’s not urgent is completely ok. Not falling for everything you see on social media. I have come to terms with the fact that you can’t pursue everything that every other woman on social media is doing in the name of multitasking. Instead, I choose to give that time to my hobbies outside of work to keep my left brain active as well. It was a blessing for me during the pandemic, to use that extra time effectively in pursuing my passion and not sit idle going into thinking spree of the inevitable problems of life.
Call to Action —
Through this post, I’m asking for a more balanced thought process across all gender identities and not jump the gun the next time you see a female colleague working late at night or a male colleague sending the MOM after a meeting. It will start by questioning and challenging our current thoughts and actions to march towards a gender-neutral environment where roles are divided basis the skill sets and abilities of a person.
Conclusion —
Acknowledging, accepting, and addressing the unconscious bias within and around us is an ongoing journey, and the more aware we become of it on a regular basis, the more we can challenge it to be a better version of our earlier selves improving the quality of our life and of the people around us.
