The empowerment of women in society
The time has come to face ourselves and begin this personal and at the same time common process towards empowerment, but How do we manage to be an empowered woman within today's society? By being the protagonists of our own story.
Women's week is here, and we believe it is important to start this article by motivating the change in the role of women in society. It is something that began on March 8, 1857, when a group of textile workers in New York went on strike to protest working conditions. It was one of the first demonstrations where women began to demand their rights.
With universal suffrage, the difference was marked and the course of history changed. We were able to vote in 1933 and 1936, but after that we were 40 years without being able to do so. We regained our right to vote in 1977, to be more exact, 42 years ago. This means that Spanish women have only voted in approximately 12 general elections.
And little by little we have been able to advance in other areas, although there are still many to improve.
However, if we don't defend it first within our closest circle, how can we expect it to change in society? It is a task that is not easy, which, as we have mentioned before, is a movement that has been going on for some time. Therefore, it is important to appreciate our values and attitudes and instill them from the small generations to the current ones, so that this does not cease to make sense.
Next, we share the perspective of four women from the Aticco team on the empowerment of women in society:
“What is not seen” by Elena Belloso
Head of Account Department
You start the adventure of being an excited and radiant mother! I felt like the temple of life! Your baby is born, you count the fingers and toes, everything is fine! You are at home with him, enjoying, laughing, sometimes crying because of hormonal ups and downs. Your maternity leave ends (6 months), your baby is still a puppy to breastfeed and cannot walk yet. The time comes to return to work, and that's when you realize that this system is not compatible with your new life as a mother, and that's when a long-distance race begins...
And everything that is not seen:
You leave your baby in a nursery and go to work holding back tears and breast pain because they are filling with milk. You go to work having gotten up 7 times at night (luckily). For 18 months. You get up at 7 in the morning and your day doesn't end until eleven or twelve. You get dressed and shower in 2 and a half minutes. Your tupper is leftovers and a long etc….
But you go to work and give your all as a worker and as a mother, you smile at everyone, you want to do everything perfectly. You feel the guilt of not being able to spend more time with your baby, you worry about everything, but you forget the woman you were and you ask yourself, what did I do with all that time I had before and don't have now?
We shouldn't have 6 months of leave, we shouldn't submit to this long-distance race, we should have a longer leave and reduced hours without thinking about whether you can afford it economically... Surely many parents also feel that way, that is why it is everyone's responsibility to improve things, not just ours.
Because there are still entrepreneurs who do not hire women for fear of pregnancy, forgetting that they had a mother and that it would be fair for them to have equal opportunities.
Over time you recover, but the wear and tear of the long-distance race remains there and continues. I am recovering some of the woman I was before becoming a mother, and I have met the true love of my life: My son.
«The revolution has begun, but it is a long-distance race» by Mireia
Carbonell
Account Director of Communication
I remember that just a year ago I was preparing the banners to take to the March 8th demonstration. It was the first time I had joined a feminist strike and I wasn't very clear on what to focus on. There were so many things to say that it was not easy to choose.
On the one hand, we recently had the trial of 'la manada' (the pack) and with it the outrage over a patriarchal justice system that excused the aggressors and blamed the victim. There were also all the victims of gender violence who had been murdered by their partners. Those who had not died, but were beaten daily. Those who had been raped. Those who suffered abuse. It was also necessary to assert who decides over a woman's body, speaking of abortion and the rise in the business of surrogate wombs.
In the workplace, the demands were clear, starting with the wage gap that means women earn 25% less than men for the same jobs, the few opportunities to access senior positions, or the lack of policies that favor work-life balance and the rights of working mothers. And we had to protest about the lack of social and labor recognition for caregivers, domestic workers and housewives.
When the day arrived and I saw that sea of fighting women, I had no doubt that all those issues and many more would be represented. It was an exciting day, where we saw the strength we have together and the desire we have to change the situation. That day began a revolution that had been brewing for many years. It had been started by our mothers, and also by our grandmothers with their eternal sacrifice.
A year later, and despite the surge that day represented, most of what we demanded there is still happening. Abuses against women have not decreased. Murders, unfortunately, have not either. The rise of far-right parties has led to questioning important issues such as the definition of gender violence, a woman's right to decide over her own body, or the need for this feminist revolution.
But let's not get confused. Something changed that March 8, and nothing and no one is going to stop this. This revolution is feminist but not only of women, it is the revolution of everyone. It may seem that we are going backwards, but it is only a vision projected by those who are frightened by the change. This March 8 we will be there again. And we will be more than a year ago, and we will be supported by all those men who fight alongside us to build the road to the future.
«What we are supposed to do» by Naiara Chaler
Event Manager
I come from a family with many women, and very much of women. They built it based on what they were supposed to do, and relearned with what they found in life; they 'took the bull by the horns' and decided that 'this' wasn't for them.
We feel daily the burden that reminds us of our role as caregivers, as devoted, as servants of our grandmothers, companions, children, sisters, and a list that could never end. It seems that more than an entity with its own soul, we have been for many centuries the gear that allows others to fulfill their desires. We are angry, and we must lighten up, and start living the way we deserve, respecting - above all - our own desires, ambitions, and curiosities; ourselves. And it is not easy.
For me, the challenge now is to have the patience and perseverance to break these stigmas that have been burned into each of us. To become aware that we should not be affected by the judgment of others and we should not judge ourselves for not fulfilling what has been expected for centuries, and some still expect, of a woman like us.
Being kind to ourselves, and finding the courage to reclaim our space when we feel like being alone, to speak openly about our sexual curiosities and desires; to want and love whoever we want, even if it's a stranger, or many; to travel alone even if we have a partner.
For me, empowering ourselves is setting the counter to zero every day and undertaking those gestures that allow us to do whatever we want, without caring about the opinion of others, but above all, without judging ourselves or our colleagues because many still think that we should do what is supposed to be done, and not what we want.
«Being a woman» by Carlota Rodríguez
Finance Intern
Dominant, strong, analytical, decisive, proud, ambitious, logical, aggressive, courageous, powerful, competitive, direct, dynamic and selfish.
Committed, educated, subtle, sincere, generous, weak, honest, friendly, socially responsible, expressive, sensitive, affective and patient
Would you say that these adjectives belong to the same person? The first paragraph corresponds to the attributes socially associated as masculine, the second corresponds to the feminine.
And this reality makes you wonder: If the male gender has an easier time accessing what is understood as success (which it does), then as a woman, do I have to have masculine attributes to be able to access success?
If I am a woman and I feel identified with my gender, should I also feel identified with feminine attributes? And if I don't feel that way, am I less of a woman?
Is being a woman fitting into the roles of a woman? And if not, what is being a woman?
When we are born the first thing that is announced about us is our sex. From this moment on, our sex begins to somehow define our person, and part of being a woman is to wear invisible chains day and night; sometimes internalizing that there are rights you are not given and obligations you should not have.
That means that sometimes it means fighting harder to get the same, putting up with inappropriate comments, or even that your appearance matters more than your words. Let's fight as we always do so that this reality will one day be a mere memory in the history books.
Because being a woman has never been a handful of adjectives or physical or biological characteristics. It is much more.
Only a few years ago, gender equality was a utopia. Now, we can say that although there is a long way to go, we will achieve it. May this March 8th find us united, strong, and proud, and may it last us 364 more days!
