"Break the Bias"

[HoliHormonalTigerlilly]

Why is the International WOMEN'S Day campaign using gender to describe sex?

https://www.internationalwomensday.com

And what kind of a tagline is that?!

I thought it was just me! I'm so easily triggered nowadays.

Because its for anyone who identifies as a woman. They sent an email round in work asking for pictures of women in our workplace. I looked into it further to see what they thought a woman was.

I've been asked for a quote by our social media team about how we can "break the bias".

I'm considering:

"stop equating sex with gender!" Or

"protect the sex-based rights of women & girls"

The whole thing depressed the fuck out of me.

Even aside from the 'who is this for' aspect, the whole 'show us how you're breaking biases against women' felt kind of hectoring. Like if you're not breaking biases (it's irrelevant in your job, or you're vulnerable and have no power to do so) then you're letting the side down. Women that are suffering oppression in the workplace can't join in.

I honestly couldn't think how I could relate it to my job, without having to reverse engineer some kind of fake problem that I'm overcoming. It actually seems to be highlighting sex stereotyping - "look at me, being a builder, eh!" Etc....

I really wanted to be positive and join in but it just seemed like a massive load of wank (and an extra job to do!).

Maybe I'm just a bit fed up...

@HoliHormonalTigerlilly

I've been asked for a quote by our social media team about how we can "break the bias".

I'm considering:

"stop equating sex with gender!" Or

"protect the sex-based rights of women & girls"

Brilliant! Or "When I say 'woman ' I mean 'adult human female' "

I think I've seen some such bollocks at work too. I will be boycotting all of it, as rocking up will only encourage the pronouning handmaiden taking a small break from "educating" us all on bekiiiiiind to hector us about breaking through very biases that underpin TWAW, which we must suffer every other week

It's the celebrate our differences but that gets me
Not "those" differences obviously aye?

I've been asked for a quote by our social media team about how we can "break the bias".

Are they asking the blokes too? Because a lot of its their responsibility- literally, taking their fair share of caring responsibilities not just leaving it to their partners, for instance.

Someone posted on another thread about this. The break the bias is a commercial company set up for IWD who love their slogans and getting everyone to do some ridiculous hand gestures to look cute on social media.

the UN have a different theme.
Gender equality for a sustainable future www.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/events/2022/02/international-womens-day-2022

We’ll be running with this - but some bad last had supported it with a blog piece all about sex and the quotes she wrote for staff to use have all been from fiesty ladies, and all about sex. The G word is not used.

Gosh, darn, I wonder who done that?

And no hand signals - naffer than Agadoo.

Oh the hand signal...they'll be lucky not to get sued by Marvel.

[quote FemaleAndLearning]Someone posted on another thread about this. The break the bias is a commercial company set up for IWD who love their slogans and getting everyone to do some ridiculous hand gestures to look cute on social media.

the UN have a different theme.
Gender equality for a sustainable future www.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/events/2022/02/international-womens-day-2022[/quote]
Thank you!

@IcakethereforeIam

Oh the hand signal...they'll be lucky not to get sued by Marvel.

That crossed arms gesture is common in some parts of south east Asia as an emphatic “no”, long predating the Marvel copy cats. 🙅

Can’t be worse than ‘No Woman Left Behind’

With the invisible small print being:

‘Except victims of male violence who need single sex spaces/services.’

Within spitting distance of IWD a political party (that I was seeking help from wrt to single sex services for DA/rape victims) informed me firmly that ‘We do women’s rights’

Which would be great if it hadn’t been preceded by refusing to help and me asking ‘but what about female rights?’

So ‘female rights’ are not supported, only ‘women’s rights’

With the emphasis on the ‘men’ in ‘women’ obviously

Always learning, thank you.

I woke up to a text wishing me a happy IWD. It was well-intentioned and the person who sent it is a good friend.

However, my first thought was: I think I preferred it when no one gave a shit about this day because at least back then, everyone knew what a woman was.

I had some emails from professional organisations, weasly little rats.

Yup. Had a barrage of marketing emails too

@MNadactyl

I woke up to a text wishing me a happy IWD. It was well-intentioned and the person who sent it is a good friend.

However, my first thought was: I think I preferred it when no one gave a shit about this day because at least back then, everyone knew what a woman was.

It's not IWD I'm objecting to. Just the terrible campaign in the op.

I meant - I preferred it without all this so I think I'm on the same page as you.

IWD has become a mass marketing exercise. Having looked through the list of "events" I could attend, not one mentions sex-based discrimination (all day "gender") and there's nothing at all on the history of IWD or on women's rights over the decades.

It's all "imagining a world" fluff and nonsense.

We have a new EDI person at work. Their suggestion for today is that women in our STEM department change our email profile pics to us doing a pose to show how we're "breaking bias".

Meanwhile I'm the one that's chasing Estates about the unsafe condition of the most used accessible toilet in the building, and querying the accessibility status of a key finance website.

Head over to Twitter where ‘Gender pay gap bot’ is doing a magnificent job of tweeting the ‘gender’ pay gap of each and every establishment tweeting about IWD. It’s joyous.

My work have aimed IWD at LGBT, ideally TW. They are looking for women who have faced challenges, broken boundaries, been inspirational and brave.

This fits TW, but doesn't fit all the women who work hard, often balance caring responsibilities as this is taken for granted. To be important on this day you have to be a man busy feeling like a woman, not a woman getting on with doing everything.

We need a breakaway adult human female month. Then an adult human female history months. Then an adult human female pride month.

Then a series of days throughout the entire calendar like adult human female auntie day, adult human female sister day, adult human female friend day and so on.

Given that we can't even have one day which reflects history, we might as well invent months and days that go on for such an interminably long time, each day you wake up wondering if you didn't just have such a day yesterday?