On Monday 8 March 2021 the world celebrated International Women’s Day with the hugely popular theme of “choose to challenge”. Women were encouraged to speak up, be heard, engage with one another and support the movement to challenge and call out gender bias inequality.
On the evening of International Women’s Day, the much anticipated Oprah Winfrey interview with Harry and Meghan was aired on ITV. As was expected, this interview caused quite a stir, particularly amongst British people who are renowned for their stiff upper lip, as the curtains were raised on the apparent happenings behind the scenes of the tightly guarded Royal Family and it’s associated “Firm”. Whilst this interview shed some light on vastly topical issues which are referred to in more detail below, an initial point raised by Meghan during her interview was that she did not make Kate Middleton cry prior to the Royal Wedding, but instead it was the other way around. In light of International Women’s Day, this poses a couple of thoughts; 1. of course, everyone should have the right to correct falsehoods about them, particularly when such falsehoods are printed on the front page of every newspaper, but 2. on a day designed to support the strong women who surround you, should such correction have been made at the expense of another? Does that not just propagate the misogynistic stereotype that women are naturally catty towards one another? Women do not and should not feel that they need to publicly knock others down in order to climb the career ladder or make themselves feel better about their own self-worth. We’re all sadly too familiar with some female leaders who believe that because they had a hard time getting to where they are in their careers, or who feel guilty about their own work/life/family balance or the sacrifices they feel that they have had to make for the sake of their own career advancement, other women should not have it easier than them nor should they be able to “have it all”. Many female networks are now founded on the premise of a remark initially made by the former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright that there’s “a special place reserved in hell” for professional women who do not help other women hoping to achieve what they have done.
Nonetheless and regardless of your thoughts on the Oprah interview, it has brought to the forefront of our minds the significant, important and widespread issues of mental health, suicide and racism and the link between discrimination and the knock on adverse effect that it has on mental ill health. What is evident is that these topics cannot and should not go unnoticed and be ignored and regardless of your position in society, no one is untouchable and discrimination and mental health issues can affect anyone regardless of their wealth, status or social standing. Negative behaviour surrounding such topics should not go unchallenged. The aftermath of the interview saw heated debates across the news and social media on the authenticity of Meghan’s claims, given that she is a professional actress, which in the cases of presenter Piers Morgan and executive director of the Society of Editors, Ian Murray, cost them their jobs. However, what most can agree on, including Piers, is that those who are suffering from mental health, suicidal thoughts, and racial discrimination are entitled to and should have access to crucial support and advice through their employer. Employers should ensure that employees are aware of the correct reporting lines to raise issues relating to mental health or to report discriminatory remarks or incidents without fear of retaliation or adverse impact on career progression so that they are aware of the support available to them, whether that be an internal member of staff appointed to oversee employee welfare, or through an external employee assistance programme, private medical insurance or occupational health. Allegations of discrimination should be swiftly and fairly investigated by employers, regardless of who is implicated.
Employee safety and welfare is paramount and tragically this has only been highlighted further by the recent abduction and murder of Sarah Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in South West London. For many women, from all walks of life, this story has been particularly unsettling. Sarah did what has been described as the “right thing”. She wore bright clothing, stuck to main roads and called her partner on the way home, but unfortunately this wasn’t enough. The feeling of being anxious about leaving the office after working late, or worrying about how to get home after work drinks with colleagues or the Christmas party is one that is familiar to many and the fear of walking in the dark alone has only increased following the news of the tragedy which befell Sarah. In times such as this, employers should seek to provide increased support to its staff, perhaps offering to pay for taxi’s home for those working late in the office past 9pm or contributing towards taxi fares after work-related social events. Similarly, male colleagues sharing a taxi with female colleagues should be encouraged to drop the female colleagues home first. In addition and if desired by employees, employers could circulate basic tips for self-defence or arrange virtual or office based self-defence classes and invite someone to come and speak to staff to raise awareness about how men could make women feel safer when passing them in the street at night by, for example, crossing the road when approaching a single woman in the street or walking behind someone with loud footsteps and a wide distance to ensure women are aware that someone else is present. In addition, individuals should be encouraged to keep their faces visible when approaching another at night in the street to reduce the feeling of attack. Sekura is a great free security app for women which employers could encourage their female staff to use.
In times like these, employers, employees, colleagues, friends and family should support one another to feel safe, secure and confident to speak up about any issues affecting them in the workplace or their work-related performance.
