Olwen Dawe: A Changing Face for Feminism?
Published: Thursday, April 30, 2015
If there’s one standpoint I really struggle with, it’s the assumption that feminism is, in some way, the stock preserve of man-hating antagonists. Without giving away my age, it’s fair to say I wasn’t around when the marriage bar existed but I was when homosexuality was decriminalised – scarily only relatively recently – and I look forward to living in a society which welcomes marriage equality, hopefully later this year. I could avoid proceeding any further by simply advocating the view that, amazingly enough, feminism is about equality – for both genders.
This years’ sequence of International Women’s Day-centred events provided a marathon of sorts for me. Having recently assumed office as Network Ireland’s national President, I was bombarded with – very interesting and informative – invitations and events to attend. Ranging from broadcasting to boards, and childcare, it was a veritable feast of feminist discussion.
The “Better Boards” event hosted by NWCI and the European Parliament Information Office in Ireland offered clear insight into both the barriers and causal factors to the dearth of women on public and private boards. Featuring a guest contribution by Halla Tomasdottir, the Icelandic businesswoman who essentially pioneered significant economic and social change in her home country, “Better Boards” outlined proactive, productive measures for change. With a current board ratio of circa 10% for private Irish companies [conversely, in State boards, this figure is considerably higher, attributable to a quota system] – there’s much scope for change. Nothing wrong with that, I hear you say. And indeed, there’s not – though, as MC Norah Casey turned the discussion to the floor, there was a notable contribution from a man who wondered ‘where the rest of the men were?’ A fair comment and one which was well-received – alongside several others surrounding certain professional organisations whose policy is specifically not to endorse quotas.
Women on Air followed on Wednesday, with a theme which focused on mentoring – providing key tips for the aspiring contributor, as well as survival skills for some of the more rigorous debate programmes. Given that, on average, only one in four voices on radio is female – there is need for more active participation. An engaging evening, with guest speakers including broadcaster, Claire Byrne – there were some issues which, though latent in the discussion, by proxy, emerged. As is regularly cited by organisations such as Women for Election, confidence – the sense of self-section or feeling of adequate skills – and childcare arose. Why so? Simply, because they remain as key challenges for women – not just in pursuing opportunities to partake in broadcast opportunities, but for many other reasons.
Childcare was the central topic for the European Commission’s event with contributions from several sectors – and much lively debate. As always, models of idyllic childcare policies were referenced – my cousin is the fortunate benefactor of one such policy, it’s true, they do actually exist. However, cultural realities may undermine the genuine possibility of such policies getting out of aspirational discussion and into a more factual context. Announced on the day was a task-force whose focus is active consultation, participation and formulation of revised structures and policy. I think it’s fair to say, bated breath awaits said revised policies.
Apart from some similar threads to these events, what else was notable? Quite simply – the lack of men in the room. Throughout the week, and including my own inaugural event – I spied a maximum of three gents in attendance. Our speaker panel, including Paula Meehan, Danielle Ryan, Micheline Sheehy-Skeffington and Niamh Bushnell, delved into the reaches of quotas, policy, society and practical issues for women in leadership – but as one audience commenter suggested “we’re talking to ourselves”.
Fast forward some weeks on, and I found myself reflecting on just these sentiments as I listened to Dr. Tom Clonan, Colm O’Gorman and Damian Barr discussing ‘Being a Man’ at the Mountains to Sea festival. It was a truly illuminating and candid discussion – at once heart-wrenching, humorous and energising. I think it’s fair to say that all three speakers are for equality, for harnessing potential and for feminism. Which in essence, is one and the same. Patriarchy and a lack of female representation is damaging for both sexes, and does not allow any of us to reach our innate human potential.
So, why do we find ourselves continually in the bind of the feminism-as-a-negative narrative? Is it easier than recognising that we all have a role, every single one of us and every single day? That feminism is in fact, bigger than one gender, but about equality for everyone? There may be a sense that feminism’s brand needs to be updated – but one thing is for sure, it definitely needs more than one gender leading the charge.
Olwen Dawe is the current President of Network Ireland and an individual member of NWCI. To become a member of NWCI, visit the membership section of the website.
The views expressed in NWCI's blog are not necessarily the views of NWCI.