Almost a year has passed since the last time the world was painted lilac for us, and it's time again to loudly claim that there aren't enough women and blah blah blah. I realize that, in reality, I could have done a copy paste of last year's article, because many señoros are still well-installed on the stage. But I won't. Because by demanding, as we always demand, it turns out we are getting worse. Because while women are banging our heads against the glass ceiling, the presence of women executives has declined in recent years in Catalonia. And, on top of that, young men are becoming more conservative and are increasingly moving away from women and feminism. What are we doing wrong?
We are stuck demanding and wondering why we are not advancing, or even, why we are regressing. There are many whys, and they are not new. This is a problem, it is a drama, that in our society has many angles: the glass ceiling at work, the lack of STEM vocations in school, the lack of funding for women entrepreneurs, gender violence in relationships, harassment on the street, lack of respect everywhere. The data has been published this week by all media, there is nothing more to add.
Half a century ago, women began to massively enter the labor world, but without letting go of the weight of responsibilities and obligations in the family sphere. Doing the juggling acts we talk so much about and which are a scam. But men did not make the same journey: they maintain their dominance in the public sphere, and very few have taken the step to also have an active role in domestic responsibilities. We think that for someone to enter, another must leave. Nobody likes to lose privileges.
But why do we talk about losing, if we all have so much to gain?
We must change many cultural and social biases. Talk and above all act. In life there are always renunciations. Some generations have become accustomed to talking about guilt, but this is not about regretting having to give up a career or being a mother... Every decision in life, however small, entails renunciations. But it is not necessary for us women to always be the martyrs. The point is that it wouldn't be necessary for anyone to become a martyr, either.
I hear an advertisement that says today's girls can be tomorrow's bosses. Why should we wait until tomorrow? There are already enough prepared and ambitious women, and plenty of them! Why don't we see more women in prominent positions now? More executives, more bosses, more entrepreneurs?
We must once and for all set aside shame: women must openly demand access to positions of power. This does not mean going against anyone, but for everyone. We must demand it and fight for it, because having power is not bad. Power in itself is worth nothing, but we want it because it is the only way to have an impact when we want to do things differently.
"Women have to openly demand access to positions of power. Power in itself is worth nothing, but we want it because it is the only way to have an impact when we want to do things differently"Here there are no good or bad, but different ways of doing things. And there is a way of doing things, which for many years has been exercised mostly by men, but also by some women, which is now demonstrably outdated, but not at all buried. It has been 16 years since McKinsey published that study that showed with figures that companies with more women in executive and management positions achieve better results. It is called diversity, which rhymes with profitability. And perhaps also with serenity, with happiness.
Meanwhile, to see what we don't want, we can give many examples that sound familiar to us. That it is still normal for women to give up their professional careers more than men when they have children. Really? Almost 15 years ago, in El timo de la superwoman (Ed.Planeta) we wrote: "but whose children are they? only the mother's?". This is called co-responsibility.
That it still works that male executives surround themselves with other men for positions of trust; or that investors trust the projects of male entrepreneurs more than female entrepreneurs. They prioritize camaraderie, since for going for beers or a padel match, for going out with friends, it's great. We also do it among female friends. But for working, for getting the best performance from people, from companies, for being more profitable and for contributing to society? It's unconscious.
That we continue to hold women's meetings, women's panels, to talk about why there are no women in certain positions, or we hold talks on topics where the speakers are only women. It's good, women must have visibility, this is key. But what should women talk about that only interests women?
And agreed, women among ourselves must help each other. To find the ways to get where we want, to make our voices heard. Young women need the advice of older women, to accelerate change, to empower ourselves. But believe me, those who also need help are the men who still haven't realized that alone they are going nowhere. That this is not a gender struggle. That this is about a new way of doing things, which for simplicity is associated with women, but which we need men to make their own, because it benefits us all.
In the meantime, we will have to keep writing articles and painting everything purple that is necessary, and more.