Yen Tran, Associate at Advisian answers two questions: what equality looks like to her and how we can #PressForProgress.
What does equality really look like for you?
Ideally it would mean the elimination of gender related injustices. At a global level, this means issues such as denial to education, sex slavery, child marriages and genital mutilation, to name just a few. But closer to home, it’s not enough to say that because we don’t face any of these issues that we’re done with equality. Obviously we’re still yet to achieve equal pay and representation, but we’re also far from eliminating crimes of sexual or domestic violence, and the recent #metoo campaign in the media has highlighted that women still aren’t safe to stand up to sexual harassment without risking not only their reputations, but also their jobs.
What do you think we can all do to #PressForProgress for the future?
Stop treating equality as an argument of men vs. women, and start thinking of it as an issue of humanity and justice. Listen to, respect and acknowledge the real lived experiences of people who have suffered the injustices of inequality over our own prejudices or ideals. Be more than just not part of the problem and take positive action towards a solution.