International Women's Day at Alleyn's

Equity means creating an inclusive world.

Equality is the goal, and equity is the means to get there.

This year, the International Woman’s Day theme is ‘Embracing Equity’. Unlike equality, equity isn’t all about giving everyone the same treatment. Instead, equity is about giving those who are disadvantaged extra help in order to thrive and make the most of their opportunities. By embracing equity, we recognise that each person has different circumstances and that for each person to have an equal outcome, different resources and opportunities must be provided. We must look at advancing women’s opportunities through an intersectional lens, and recognise that social change which benefits white women, for example, does not have the same positive impact on women of colour due to systemic inequalities.

FemSoc

Looking through a School Life lens, our FemSoc Society chose to focus on how we can improve equity for women in sport and women in technology.

On Tuesday we screened a documentary about the Lionesses called, “How football Came Home” which was very well attended by Lower School pupils who came along to cheer and learn about the FIFA ruling on women being excluded from football in 1921.

On Wednesday, FemSoc hosted a Ned Talks mini-lecture where three amazing speakers did 7-minute talks on the following subjects: “Sexual ethics and the traditionalist argument” (Scarlet), “Why I refuse to stop talking about women in STEM” (Ipek), and “Glass Cliffs and High Heels: A Precarious Combination.” (Ms Smith).

Many thanks to form tutors too who during tutor times gathered pupil feedback on our 2021 Gender Equality Charter, which was then discussed and put into an action plan by pupils who attended the Gender Equality Charter review on Thursday lunchtime.

Finally, today everyone was invited to wear purple to show support for international Woman’s Day and raise funds for Women for Women International. In return, pupils were invited to watch a lunchtime staff netball match!

In summary, as FemSoc members said during school assemblies this week;

“It is important to remember we can all individually take steps towards achieving gender equity. We can encourage girls to speak confidently, as many girls use phrases such as “kind of” and “sort of” to weaken their statement, hindering their ability to share ideas clearly. We can teach girls to navigate conflict, as girls are often taught to suppress their feelings to get along with others, preventing them from speaking openly. Girls are often underestimated by others and in turn underestimate themselves, so we can encourage girls to own their success and others to celebrate it.”