Balance For Better #IWD2019
In aid of International Women’s Day 2019 we decided that we would let our young people speak up about what this year’s theme, Balance For Better means to them. Today you will see some pictures from some of the children and young people who use our services having their say on the gender balance they want to see for a better world. We believe that is not a gender specific issue but an issue of policy, government and business and we as a youth organisation need to support both genders to make the world a more fair and just society for both women and men.
When we speak of gender balance, Achieve More Scotland is purposely jumping over the dark water of discussing women’s struggles to gain equality and instead making a bridge with men to open up a dialogue to discuss how we can gain gender balance in management, politics and sport. We don’t do this to escape for the plights and struggles girls and women have all over the world to make their voices heard, but we do this to give the next generation the tools to change the world. For if they make it the norm in society then we have a better chance to see change in the next 10 years and not the next 100 years!
Our CEO Robert McHarg had this to say in aid of IWD 2019;
“The World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Gender Gap Report indicates that true gender equality could be over 170 years away. This is unacceptable and because of racism, transphobia and other forms of discrimination it’s worse for some groups of women than others.
If we could break down the rigid expectations around gender which are prevalent in Scotland and across the world, we’d create more room for everyone. Getting rid of the norms that cause gendered violence, pay inequality, the devaluing of certain work roles and parenting as well as inequalities in leadership roles would change the world for the better and help to achieve a gender balance in critical areas and give young women belief that they are valued and have a significant contribution to make in making this world a smarter, fairer and more just one.”
This dialogue between gender’s allows young people to discuss gender balance with each other whilst they take part in football, dance and gymnastics building on the idea that peers can be important in this conversation on gender. A rise of women is something that should be discussed with men as it does not mean the fall of men, in our opinion it is the rise of a balanced world that positively gains the economic and political benefit of having women and men alter some of the roles they have access to.
We could discuss this topic for hours more, but we want our young people to have this day to tell us how they view #BalanceForBetter. We aim to keep the conversation going throughout the year with our young people and we hope you enjoy the takeover of our social media from our empowerment officers in aid of IWD 2019.
