Smurfette Syndrome, Matilda Effect, your new section " A concept under the magnifying glass " identifies the elements of language to delve into essential notions for thinking about women's leadership.
You may be surprised to find this month, not an abstraction borrowed from the world of the social sciences, but the title of the world event that will be held tomorrow, and for the 37th consecutive year. If we thought it would be useful to treat March 8 as a concept, it is because it appears that, often abbreviated and quite distorted into " Women's Day", this name of " Women's Rights Day" deserves to be explored... To be restored!
Plural women
When we say " Women's Day", it has the merit of being short, direct, punchy. But the flaw of being reductive, overused and a little rude. Not in the sense of vulgar, in the sense of insufficiently fine and precise. Because THE woman, we have searched, but we have not found her. We have met WOMEN, yes, by the hundreds, by the thousands, by the millions and billions (they are only about 3.5 billion).
They all have a unique story, all an authentic personality, all a journey of their own. Of course, they can share things, but just as they also share things with men. In short, they are all different and the first of their rights, like that of any human being, is to be considered each with its own singularities.
In other words, March 8 is not the day of femininity with a large flowered F in full and loose. This is a necessary reminder to avoid getting lost in initiatives of sometimes dubious taste that would like to make us wade into sexist stereotypes from another age.
Rights that must be made effective
March 8 is an International Day, decided by the UN, to bring the issue of women's rights to the forefront.
But what are these rights? These are rights that can be described by some as " feminine ", admittedly when they relate to gynaecological or obstetric health issues, for example, but on the whole, they are essentially simple human rights: being treated equally could thus sum them all up.
Yes, but then, if these are rights that men also have, what is the meaning of such a day? To emphasize that everywhere in the world, and despite legislation that is sometimes very successful and in rather mature economic and political contexts, these rights are not effective for women. Judge for yourself: in France, despite the principle of equal pay enshrined in law since 1983, women earn on average 27% less than men*; Worldwide, they provide 66% of working time but only hold 1% of the property**; And that's not to mention the sea serpent of household chores (which is 65% of their responsibility in our country***) and that of their under-representation in corporate management positions as well as in political responsibilities...
A Day to Talk About It, All Year Round to Act
Rights to be made effective for women in the plural, this is what International Women's Day is about. But that doesn't mean either, as some people sometimes say, that it's once a year that we take care of it and that's it. This Day is made to take stock of the situation, note progress, share good practices and set goals... To be able to act all the rest of the year too!
* Observatory of Inequalities 2013
** UNICEF, 2007
INSEE, 2011
Women's rights in ten dates
1718 – Sweden grants women the right to vote... Until 1771, then again from 1862. The Finns waited until 1906, the English 1928, the Filipinos and Burmese 1935, the French 1944, the Mexicans 1953 and the Saudis 2011.
1791 – Olympe de Gouges presents the Declaration of the Rights of Women and of the Citizen to the French Assembly... The Convention, unsurprisingly, rejected its text, but it nevertheless constituted the birth certificate of a feminine political consciousness asserted as such.
1880 – French public high schools open up to girls. The Republican Camille Sée crosses swords with opponents who are worried about a destabilization of the foundations of society when women become " free thinkers ".
1900 – For the first time, women participate in the Olympic Games.
1943 – Women are allowed to enter the Wall Street Stock Exchange building.
1965 – French women can work and have their own cheque book without their husband's permission
1971 – World first: an employer is condemned for discrimination in hiring by the Supreme Court of the United States. Twelve years later, France adopted a law for professional equality that prohibits discrimination based on gender.
1974 – Françoise Giroud enters the French government... As Secretary of State for the " Status of Women "!
1998 – France adopts the principle of parity in elective office.
2014 – A first law firm opens in Saudi Arabia.
