Eva Andres
Social Media Specialist
The time has come to face ourselves and begin this personal and at the same time common process towards empowerment, but how do we become an empowered woman in today's society? By being the protagonists of our own history.
Women's week is coming 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, a group of women textile workers in New York went on strike to protest working conditions. It was one of the first demonstrations where women began to claim their rights.
Universal suffrage made a difference and changed the course of history. We were able to vote in 1933 and 1936, but after that we were unable to vote for 40 years. We recovered 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 make progress in other areas, although there are still many areas to improve.
However, if we do not defend it first of all within our closest circle, how are we going to want it to change in society? It is a task that is not easy, which, as we have mentioned above, 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 younger generations to the current ones, so that this does not cease to make sense.
Here is the point of view 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 mother, radiant! I felt like the temple of life! Your baby is born, you count his fingers and toes, everything is fine! You are at home with him, enjoying, laughing, sometimes crying because of the ups and downs of hormones. Your maternity leave is over (6 months), your baby is still a puppy to nurse and doesn't know how to walk yet. It's time to go back to work, and then you realize that this system is not compatible with your new life as a mother and that's when a long-distance race starts...
And all that is not seen:
You leave your baby in a nursery and go to work holding back tears and sore boobs because they are getting full of milk. You go to work having gotten up 7 times a night (hopefully). For 18 months. You get up at 7 a.m. 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 you give your all as a worker and as a mother, you smile at everyone, you want to make everything perfect. 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 wonder what was she doing with all that time she used to have and now she doesn't?
We should not have 6 months of sick leave, we should not be subjected to this long-distance race, we should have a longer sick leave and a reduced working day without thinking about whether you can afford it financially... I am sure that many parents also feel this way, so it is everyone's responsibility to improve things, not only ours.
Because there are still employers who do not hire women for fear of pregnancy, forgetting that they have had a mother and that it would be fair for them to have equal opportunities.
With time you recover, but the wear and tear of the long-distance race remains there and continues. I have regained some of the woman I was before I became a mother, and I have met the true love of my life: my son.
»The revolution has begun, but it's 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 8 demonstration. It was the first time I joined a feminist strike and I wasn't sure what to focus on. There were so many things to say that it was not easy to choose.
On the one hand, we had the recent trial of the herd and with it the indignation at a patriarchal justice that excused the aggressors and blamed the victim. There were also all the victims of gender violence who had been killed at the hands of their partner. Those who had not died, but were beaten daily. Those who had been raped. Those who suffered abuse. It was also necessary to vindicate who decides who decides over a woman's body, talking about abortion and the boom in the surrogacy business.
In the labor field the claims were clear, starting with the wage gap that makes women earn 25% less than men for the same jobs, the few opportunities to access high positions, or the lack of policies that favor family reconciliation and the rights of working mothers. And we had to protest against the lack of social and labor recognition for caregivers, domestic workers and housewives.
When the day arrived and I saw all that tide of women fighters, I had no doubt that all these 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 in the making 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 high of that day, most of what we claimed there is still happening. Abuse of women has not diminished. Nor, sadly, have the murders. The rise of extreme right-wing parties has led to the questioning of such important issues as the definition of gender violence, the power of women to decide over their own bodies, or the need for this feminist revolution.
But make no mistake. Something changed on 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 that is only a vision projected by those who are afraid of change. This March 8th 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 a lot of 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' was not for them.
We feel daily the burden that reminds us of our role as caregivers, as devoted, as servants of our grandmothers, partners, children, sisters, and a list that could go on and on. It seems that more than an entity with a soul of its own, we have been for many centuries the gear that allows others to fulfill their desires. We're pissed off, and we need to let loose, and start living the way we deserve to live, respecting - above all else - our own desires, ambitions, and curiosities; ourselves. And it's not easy.
For me, the challenge now is to have the patience and perseverance to break these stigmas that have been marked, by fire, in each one 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, some still expect, from a woman like us.
To be benevolent with ourselves, and to find the courage to claim our space when we feel like being alone, to talk openly about our sexual curiosities and desires; to be open about our curiosities and sexual desires; to want and love whoever we want, even if it is a stranger, or many; to travel alone even if we have a partner.
For me, empowering ourselves means resetting the meter to zero every day and undertaking those gestures that allow us to do whatever we want, regardless of the opinion of others, but above all, without judging ourselves or our partners. because many still think that we should do what we are supposed to do, and not what we want to do.
»Being a woman» by Carlota Rodríguez
Finance Intern
Dominant, strong, analytical, decisive, proud, ambitious, logical, aggressive, courageous, powerful, competitive, direct, dynamic and selfish.
Committed, polite, subtle, sincere, generous, weak, honest, friendly, socially responsible, expressive, sensitive, affectionate and patient.
Would you say that these adjectives belong to the same person? The first paragraph corresponds to attributes socially associated as masculine, the second corresponds to feminine.
And this reality makes you wonder: If the male gender has an easier time accessing what is understood as success (which they do), then do I as a woman have to have masculine attributes in order 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, am I less of a woman?
Is it being a woman to fit into women's roles? And if not, what is it to be 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 sometimes means fighting harder to get the same thing, putting up with inappropriate comments, or even having your looks matter more than your words. Let's fight as we always do for this reality to ever 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.
Just a few years ago, gender equality was a utopia. Now, we can say that although there is still a long way to go, we will achieve it. May we be united, strong and proud this March 8th, and may it be so long that it lasts 364 more days!