March 8, 1908 - From the streets of New York City, 15,000 determined women were ready for change. They chanted for better working conditions, the end of child labor, and, most famously, the right to vote. This day would go down in history as the day that catapulted the creation of the first International Women’s Day, which would happen one year later on March 8, 1909. Since that day when women filled those city streets, the actions and achievements of women have not gone unnoticed. As we reflect on International Women’s Month 2022, let it be known that the work is still unfinished. Through increasing leadership roles, breaking barriers in historically male-dominated fields, and speaking their minds now more than ever, women continue to challenge workplace biases and inequalities.
Three women are forging paths for a better tomorrow and continue to speak against disparities.
Sadie Kurzban is the founder and CEO of 305 Fitness, a company that she built from the group up after graduating from college in 2012. After an interaction with an employee at her studio who complained that when he entered she did not stop writing emails and look up at him, she realized the double standards that women, especially women CEO’s, face in the workplace. She says, “ A man who doesn’t look up from his desk is perceived as ‘busy’, ‘achieving’, ‘direct’, and ‘focused.’ A woman who doesn't look up from her desk is perceived as ‘frigid’, ‘cold’, ‘calculating’, and ‘a robot’.” Deciding to speak up about this double standard was a fire starter in the conversation about biases between men and women. Kurzban encourages women to share their stories, no matter how small they might think they are, about double standards they’ve faced in the workplace. She wants to show that no woman is alone in what they experience, while creating a space to bring light to and find answers to ways sexism can be terminated. Kurzban encourages women to share their stories, no matter how small they might think they are , to show how women are perceived in the workplace, showing that no woman is alone in what they experience, while creating a space to bring light to and find answers to ways sexism can be terminated.
Two Black businesswomen, Mandy Price and Star Carter, are the co-founders of Kanarys, an online platform that collects data from employers and employees to improve diversity and inclusion in the workplace. They created their business after they themselves were victims of workplace discrimination. Even though they both went to Ivy League schools and had all the qualifications that were required for men and women alike, they say that they still weren’t looked at as highly as their male counterparts. Because of this, they decided to create Kanarys, where their goal is to create a workplace where everyone belongs. It allows women to share how they are feeling while also being able to receive feedback and tips on how to handle situations of discrimination. These women not only spoke out against these discriminations, but also took an action to create something that would help many other women who face workplace discrimination.
Although International Women’s Day is a reminder to celebrate the achievements of women, it is also a reminder that much work still needs to be done. Live by the quote, “Well behaved women seldom make history”, speak out, and make the unconscious conscious. Bring attention to the issues women face in the workplace, just as Suzie Kurzban, Mandy Price, and Star Carter did. In the wise words of many women, “give ‘em hell!”
Sources:
Female CEO Empowering women against bias at work - YouTube
2 women make it their mission to end workplace discrimination | GMA - YouTube
