Today is International Women’s Day, a day I always like to mark and celebrate in some way. The theme this year is #BalanceforBetter, an initiative aiming to galvanise collective action for achieving better gender balance across all realms and domains.
I was sitting and reflecting on my own experience last night and pondering on why I feel drawn to mark the day, why this feels so important to me. A few things came to mind:
- Last year on a yoga retreat, having dinner with 16 other women, we witnessed a man pushing his wife around on the side of the street. It prompted a conversation about the circumstances in which we feel able to take action. This led to 4 women, of the 6 of us sitting together at one end of the table, sharing their experience of serious sexual and physical assault by men; of being groped between the legs in nightclubs; of being punched in the face by a brother in her teenage years; of being assaulted by her paramedic boyfriend; of being shoved to the floor in a nightclub when she challenged the behaviour of a man she witnessed being physically aggressive towards another woman
- Someone I used to be close to relayed to me with a smile, a conference conversation in which a female delegate recounted her experience of trying to lead a team of men, who consistently resisted her leadership and referred to her as a “bitch”. A response in the room to her account was “Just stop being a bitch then”. The person relating the story to me (a man), thought this was hilarious and spot on
- Personal experience — yes, my own — of emotional manipulation and control by men in my life and a sense that as an intelligent, articulate, independent, strong minded, tall woman, I am not always welcomed by men
- A now old and world weary story of one of the most powerful leaders in the world, referring to “grabbing her by the pussy”
- A report from 2018 which identified that women make up 6.4% of executive roles at FTSE 250 firms
- The fact that only 24 per cent of all national parliamentarians were women as of November 2018, a slow increase from 11.3 per cent in 1995
- The news this week that there is still a 17.9% difference in male and female pay packets
I could go on. But this is enough for now. Suffice it to say, this means a lot to me from both a personal and collective perspective. It needs to be highlighted. Collective action is required and I will continue to support and celebrate women in my work and in my life, in whatever way I can. There are so many women I know whom I see combining strength with grace, whom I see displaying courage, emotional intelligence, compassion and empathy, spirit and heart, often, sadly, in the face of considerable provocation by men. And so I dedicate this poem to all of them, to you, to us. And I salute you.
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise I rise I rise.
Like last year, Neon is offering a 30% discount for women signing up to a programme of 12 sessions (private clients only). Availability is limited and will be on a first come, first served basis. The offer lasts until the end of March. ##There is also one pro-bono spot available for a woman seeking coaching to support her in making a major change in her life and who cannot afford to pay. Contact us if interested at hello@charlotte.marketing-barn.co.uk