Content Marketing & Digital PRSocial MediaVideo Content International Women’s Day 2022 Mar 8th, 2022 International Women’s Day is globally celebrated, and highlights the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975, and in 1996 they announced their first annual theme “Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future”, thus shaping the event that we know today. A (very) brief introduction to feminism Feminism has come a long way since the inception of the word in 1837 by French philosopher, Charles Fourier (as féminisme). The roots of the practice of feminism is widely debated, but it wasn’t until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that “waves” of feminism were created and the goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The second wave began in the 1960s and continued into the 90s, the context of the movement was heavily focused on anti-war and civil rights movements. While the first wave was – generally speaking – reserved for white, cisgendered, middle class women, the second wave was more inclusive. The mid 90s saw the introduction of third wave feminism and with it we saw derogatory terms being appropriated and subverted to stop them being verbal weapons. Art writer John Berger discusses ‘The Male Gaze’ in his 1972 essay “Ways of Seeing”, he places emphasis on that men look and women are looked-at as the subjects of images. Although written in what is classed as the Second Wave, what’s interesting is that third wave feminism took back what was a patricarchal construct and began the process of extinguishing the belief Berger discusses within the essay. #BreakTheBias Recently I’ve found (from a millennial’s point of view) that feminism is sometimes used as a negative term, with many women not wanting to be stereotyped as a bra-burning misandrist. The #MenAreTrash movement doesn’t accurately represent the majority of feminists, yet seems to get the most attention and unfavourable press. At its core, feminism is equality for all; any gender, any sexuality, any colour and any class. It is not about creating a divide between genders but uniting everyone in the world under a common goal. The theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) this year is #BreakTheBias. I think this is an important theme to consider. There are two types of bias: Conscious Bias – the action of supporting or opposing a particular person or thing in an unfair way, because of allowing personal opinions to influence your judgement. Unconscious Bias – the person with the bias is not aware of and can influence decisions in recruitment, promotion, and performance management. Both are very damaging to the acceleration of true equality. Three central beliefs underpin and guide the purpose and provisions of the International Women’s Day website: identifying, celebrating and increasing visibility of women’s achievements can help forge equality strategic collaborations based on a foundation of shared purpose, trust and appreciation can impact positive change for women worldwide awareness raising via meaningful narratives, resources and activity can help combat gender bias and discrimination to accelerate gender parity Being educated on the matter will certainly help combat the bias and attitudes towards women and men alike. Breaking the bias at Click One of the ways to break bias is to introduce role models in order to expand knowledge and combat stereotypes. What makes a good role model? Showing examples of strong leadership rather than just talking, being confident with themselves Someone who is unique and not afraid to own their differences A great communicator, and able to talk to, and respect, a variety of people Understand that they are human and are willing to accept their flaws Another way to break the bias is to share achievements, both personal and in the workplace… sometimes they may be unexpected! I sent an email round Click and here are a few examples of what I got back: Julie Sowa, Managing Director said: I completed a 10 day meditation retreat recently that required absolute silence for the entire 10 days and consisted of 11 hours a day of meditation. No distractions allowed by way of phones, books, etc…just me and a meditation cushion !! It is designed to ‘break your brain and put it back together again !’ I think the big client wins after a very competitive pitch process is always a work highlight. So winning the likes of Tesco, UEFA, Kwik Fit etc,..after a multiple agency pitch process demonstrates our strength as an agency. Immy Jones, Marketing Executive said: An achievement that stands out is how I managed to overcome some personal barriers. I didn’t do so well in my first set of AS-levels, but then managed to improve my grades when I moved to college; where I did AS and A level Photography in one year. I was awarded a First (with Honours) in Photography in University, and a Merit in my Master’s in Exhibition Studies, where I suffered a close bereavement halfway through the course. A workplace highlight for me was actually being offered the role with Click, even before starting I was at ease. The interview was a comfortable experience, and everyone is so prepared to help and offer guidance. I’ve been able to express ideas, and they have been received really well and I’m not afraid to own up to mistakes. Nicola Glancey, Content Marketing Executive said: My biggest achievements as a woman is a product of both my determination and the support and teachings of others. My black belt in TaeKwonDo, which was earned with over 15 years of study and training. I defied the gender stereotypes and succeeded in helping teach and inspire other students, an increased number of which were young girls. I competed against a variety of people and when grading and in class competed with and against a multitude of older and taller male students. My degree, which even with the increased struggles of the initial lock-down, I was able to achieve through the support and help of my dissertation supervisor, fellow students and my teachers. My career as a marketer and writer, which through the progression of my smaller successes has helped me become an aspiring worker who is critical in thought and can put forward my skills and qualifications to achieve greater success in the future! I’m really proud to be a part of a team of inspirational women, who celebrate even the smallest of wins. It’s also great to see the support from the men in the office, who are firm supporters of IWD. To learn more about IWD visit the official website , feminism has come a long way in the past 100 years, but there is more to be done. Every gender needs to stand together in solidarity and be advocates not just on the 8th March, but every day.