This Month in Gender Equity: April 2019
We return this month with our series which recaps our favorite (or least favorite) moments in gender equity from news, media, and longreads all over the internet. You’ll see installments for This Month in Gender Equity the fourth week of each month. If you have ideas or contributions, leave a comment or tweet at us! Ahead this month: High schools can be guilty of gender bias, rampant abuse in a diamond industry leader, and Coachella takes safety seriously. We’d love to know what you’re reading and learning.
Boys will be boys? How schools can be guilty of gender bias
Educator and author Matt Pinkett wants teachers to acknowledge their own biases. Pinkett says that teachers’ expectations for boys, in particular, require “a big shift in ethos: too many teachers believe boys can do less, they don’t think boys can succeed as well as girls at school. I don’t think it’s about watering it down: it’s about having high expectations for boys as well as for girls.” He and coauthor Mark Roberts also suggest that students’ early years are prime time to reprogram some of the messaging boys receive about toxic masculinity - “...that realisation that can free pupils from stereotypes, and give them the chance to do what everyone wants, which is truly fulfil their potential.”
The Company That Sells Love to America Had a Dark Secret
I’ll be honest-- I don’t have a lot of cause or desire to buy diamonds. But if I were going to, I would certainly not buy from Kay after reading this piece and the accounts of rampant abuse in a diamond industry leader. Major discrepancies in pay and promotion, sexual harassment, and, in some extreme cases, sexual assault were found across the Sterling Jewelry Inc. brands and when the issues were pointed out, the concerns fell on the deaf ears of upper management. It is disheartening to see both how long this went on for and how utterly unheard victims were for so long. In fact, the top executive at the company, who didn’t step down until 2017, was one of the worst offenders. Additionally, there is ample evidence that, even when the company was instructed by the courts to change their practices, rather than actually doing that, they instead found loopholes around the changes, so that it would appear that they were complying while they went about their “normal” crooked practices. Shame on Sterling and shame on the many people who worked to cover it up. Even now, from the article, it is clear that Sterling accepts no wrongdoing and makes the author go out of her way to point out that some of the cases have not yet begun litigation and therefore no guilt has been established. Sigh. If I do decide to go diamond shopping, I know where I won’t be going.
At Coachella, One Group Is Taking On Sexual Assault and Harassment Prevention. And It's Just Getting Started
It is the time of year again for Coachella, when a diverse group converges on a California desert for music and entertainment. Public art installations and major musical headliners are mainstays alongside an expansive infrastructure to protect the safety of all attendees. Recognizing a need for increased safety, especially for women and trans people, an LA-based, all-woman consulting collective called woman. designed the soteria. initiative, which enlists and trains women as staff and then partners with community organizations and events. In this case, soteria. occupied two tents during Coachella’s weekends of revelry. Drawing its name from the Greek goddess of safety, soteria. aims to provide a safe and accessible place for people to deal with everything from anxiety to assault. The support staff and licensed professionals discussed enthusiastic consent, how to de-escalate dangerous situations, and how to stay calm in the midst of all of the lights and sounds. This was especially successful in addressing the needs of those who did not need medical attention but needed other kinds of interventions not covered by the security or medical tents at the festival. Though festival organizers say that some improvements remain for the soteria., we think this is evidence that Coachella takes safety seriously. We look forward to seeing similar steps taken at more events in the near future.
-Amy and Lauren