Carlos Alfredo Diaz John Hamill Atheist Alliance International March 2016
AAI Gender Balance Report
Executive Summary
Atheist Alliance International is a global association of national atheist groups, with dozens of member organisations from six continents. We have been running an Atheist Census Project for some time and one of the striking results has been the gender imbalance. This observation is consistent with other similar surveys. The Board of Atheist Alliance International does not believe that we can remedy this situation unilaterally but we do not wish to ignore it either.
As a follow on project from the Atheist Census, the Board of Atheist Alliance International issued a questionnaire to a number of activists, parliamentarians, academics, journalists 1
and scientists. Our focus was to gather the views of non-religious people who do not identify as having a male gender, in order to understand their perceptions of male overrepresentation within atheist and secular organisations. In issuing the questionnaire, we were very cognisant that much scholarly work has been completed in this area and we certainly did not ignore that research. However, the focus of our project was not to arrive at scientifically robust explanation of the problem but rather to make some recommendations towards our affiliate groups and our own Atheist Alliance International Board.
"It’s important that freethought and secular groups get credit for their historic support of women’s rights. It’s greatly to the secular movement’s credit that it wishes to draw more women in and cares about women’s participation, without overlooking the link between freethought and feminism." - Annie Laurie Gaylor (co-Founder of FFRF) commenting on the AAI Gender Balance project, February 2016.
This report provides a summary of the results that were obtained from the questionnaire and incorporates some findings from the academic literature in this area. Importantly, it also makes some recommendations towards each of the national atheist and secular groups that are members of Atheist Alliance International. It is the intention of the Board to monitor if, and how, these recommendations are implemented by our affiliate members and also to monitor if there is any impact in terms of improving the observed gender balance.
It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive report with respect to the responses to the survey that were received. There were many more responses than could practically be captured in an easily consumable format. However, it was also the case that we observed much commonality in the responses across many countries and continents. We believe that we have captured the range of views that were expressed, without attempting to quantify where on the spectrum of sentiment the greater number of opinions were located. That is, this is very much a heuristic analysis of the gender balance issue and is not an attempt to draw scientifically defensible conclusions.
Necessarily then, not all of the contributions from the very many responses received can be quoted directly. However, all of the answers to the questionnaire were carefully read and considered in detail, such that they each informed the content of the report. The Board of Atheist Alliance International is extremely grateful for the enthusiastic participation of so
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many people. Without such a broad range of responses, it would not have been possible to compile this report or make informed recommendations.
Overview of Results
The Atheist Census Project run by Atheist Alliance International has gathered hundreds of thousands of responses from across the globe. There are many interesting results that may be derived from the data gathered but one of the most striking is the gender imbalance. The over representation of male respondents is present in every geography and in every demographic.
Gender identity recorded by the Atheist Census, 2016
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At the time of writing, the Atheist Census Project recorded that on average worldwide, 73.2% of respondents were male. This result is consistent with other research (not least the World Values Survey) within which there is a consensus that non-religiosity and atheism are more common among men. As such, the focus of many scholarly papers has been on seeking to explain this persistent observation 1. The Board of Atheist Alliance International does not wish to ignore this gender imbalance issue within our own Atheist Census Project. As a starting point, we have sought the input of atheists and secularists from outside the 73.2% of male respondents to our census. This input has demonstrated that male overrepresentation is certainly very visible but there were a spectrum of opinions with regard to the reasons why this might be the case. These views have been summarised (in no particular order) below.
Aggressiveness
Much scholarly research has already been completed, which investigates a possible link between an aggressive risk taking tendency among males and atheism2. That is, a higher likelihood of bombastic behaviour and bravado, may lead men to more readily adopt a public position opposing a deity.
"I have found that within online forums (and occasionally face-toface) atheism for some is about a competition around who can put forward the best argument or quote the Bible most extensively. It becomes like one-upmanship or a competition to find out who is the most clever person." - Dr Sabina Brennan (School of Psychology and Institute of Neuroscience at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland).
It was also notable from the results of the survey that this type of demeanour can frequently be off-putting to many people. Furthermore, this style of discourse can be much more prevalent among men and such machismo is often perceived as exclusionary for women and people with other gender identities.
Socialisation
Independently from atheist organisations, many cultures have historically socialised women into deferential and dutiful roles. In addition, these roles have in many cases also included 1
Addressing the “Universal” Gender Difference in Religious Commitment (Stark 2002)
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Are Risk-Taking Persons Less Religious? (Liu 2010)
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the primary caregiving for children and the elderly, bringing women into close proximity to issues of life and death. Such socialisation may incline women to be more conservative and risk averse, thereby creating a tendency towards the prevailing religiosity. Scholarly work has also referred to an under education of women in this context3.
"Capable women can still be shy and may not wish to be public about their skepticism. It may be that atheism is - or seems - too bold, too strong, too confident, even too outrageous, to be consistent with women’s stereotypical gendered characteristics (lack of confidence, quietness, submission to authority)." - Professor Christine Overall (Department of Philosophy and Gender Studies, Queen's University, Ontario, Canada).
While many responses to the questionnaire readily accepted that this context may not have arisen due to the actions of men within contemporary atheist organisations, it is nonetheless incumbent upon such organisations to be aware of the issue. That is, an historical socialisation of women leading to the over-representation of men with atheist organisations, is an issue that atheist organisations can actively seek to address today.
Selection
One area that demanded particular scrutiny across the responses, related to the selection of candidates for conference panels, working committees, management teams, etc. Frequently, these are not elected roles and it was also reported that the convening groups making the selections, for say speaking slots at conferences, can also be over-represented with men.
Gender discrimination leading to all-male speaking panels may not even be conscious. All of us are influenced by cultural and societal norms and we may have learned behaviours and biases that could include misogynist influences. However, this should not be a barrier to ensuring an appropriate gender balance at conferences and across various representative and working bodies within atheist organisations.
Before proceeding to consider recommendations based on the responses to our questionnaire, it is important to note again that this is not an exhaustive list of all the opinions that were expressed within the answers received. However, we believe that this is a 3
Religion and atheism from a gender perspective (Mahlamäki, 2012)
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fair distillation of the range of sentiments expressed. These issues also appear to be broadly consistent with much of the academic literature in this area.
AAI Recommendations
The questionnaire issued by Atheist Alliance International also asked about remedial measures. There was no consensus in this area. For example, some respondents were strongly in favour of gender quotas while others preferred a more subtle gender-proofing approach (providing for fair selection on merit with explicit steps to ensure equal opportunity afforded to those of all genders).
"I'm acting President of the Humanist Association of Ghana. We have fifty members with only eight being women and yet four of us women were elected as executives to our five-member committee. This shows how important the feminist agenda is to the group and the respect that our male counterparts have for us." - Roslyn Mould (Working Group Secretary, International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organisation, Ghana).
The recommendations agreed by the Atheist Alliance International Board are a result of a heuristic analysis by the Directors on the Board. This analysis has been informed by:
✦ the academic literature on the gender balance within atheist groups
✦ the detailed responses to our questionnaire that have been received
✦ the personal experience of Board members as atheist activists over many years
In the interests of transparency, at the time of writing the Board of Atheist Alliance International includes thirteen members. Only three of these Directors are women and ten are men.
The result of our considerations has been to make the recommendations described below, which will be communicated to each of our affiliate organisations. At the same time, our own Board will immediately take action on the adopted resolutions described for Atheist Alliance International, consistent with these recommendations.
Gender Equality Policies
Atheist Alliance International will recommend to all of our affiliate groups that they should document and adopt a formal Gender Equality Policy. There is a large volume of online 6
resource that describes best practice in the development and documentation of such policies. This includes the practical help and example documents provided within the United Nations Gender Mainstreaming efforts.
The Board of Atheist Alliance International has now adopted a formal resolution to bring such a policy to our next AGM. It is the intention that the best practice provisions within this document will be published and will become binding on those representing our organisation. A Women's Rights Policy has already been adopted by Atheist Alliance International, which deals largely with misogynist laws and public administration that discriminates against women. During 2016, this will be supplemented by a Gender Equality Policy that deals with the activities of those representing Atheist Alliance International.
Gender Quotas
Atheist Alliance International will recommend to all of our affiliate groups that they should adopt gender quotas for their leadership structures and for any speaker panels that they arrange during conferences or public meetings. The level at which those quotas should be set, can be dependent on the size of the group. For example, an organisation may have a working committee with twenty members and decide that a 40% gender quota should apply. However, the same quota may not be appropriate for a speaker panel containing three people.
"Society generally treats women as second class citizens, which can drive them towards deities that promise to solve their problems. Such women may gain confidence from atheist organisations that have clauses in their constitutions, which enable women to be part of their leadership structure." - Namyalo Viola (Director, Humanist Association for Leadership, Equity and Accountability, Uganda).
Consequently, the Board of Atheist Alliance International will not make specific recommendations on the level at which gender quotas should be set by our affiliate groups. However, the Board has now adopted a formal resolution to bring a specific proposal in this regard to our next AGM. The proposal will specify that the Board of Atheist Alliance International should not exceed fifteen persons and that a 40% gender quota should apply. This implies that after the elections to Director positions at our next AGM, the Board of Atheist Alliance International will necessarily acquire quite a different gender profile. The
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Board of Atheist Alliance International will recommend to our affiliate organisations that they might implement similar quotas and that the level at which their quotas are set should be commensurate with the size of the group in question.
Awareness
Several responses to the Atheist Alliance International questionnaire suggested that remedial actions need not all be restrictive, in terms of limiting the over-representation of men. Rather, some awareness raising initiatives aimed at those of all gender identities may be useful. Such awareness activities can take many forms and need not be specific to atheist or secular groups in order to be useful within those groups. Rather, there are many practical gender equality awareness raising tools that have been documented (for example, within the ongoing implementation of the UN System Wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women).
"Research shows that women who advocate for equality can be penalised for doing so. We are engaged in a tidal process of awareness-raising that requires everyone to look at the role that sexism plays in their lives. Are you acknowledging it when it happens, and what do you do about it?" - Soraya Chemaly (Director of The Women's Media Centre Speech Project, Writer for TIME and The Guardian).
As an example of an awareness raising measure, the Board of Atheist Alliance International has now adopted a formal policy that all new projects must include an explicitly documented gender-proofing activity. That is, all future project initiation documentation must explicitly consider any gender equality issues that are relevant to the proposed activities and these issues must be discussed by the Board before project approval.
Additionally, the Board of Atheist Alliance International will bring a proposal to our next AGM, recommending the creation of an annual award titled, "Atheist Heroine of the Developing World". This is to be modelled on the Freethought Heroine prize, which is currently awarded annually by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The Atheist Alliance International award, will seek to recognise the particular challenges that can be faced by atheists in the developing world, who also suffer gender based discrimination.
In addition to these recommendations towards our national affiliate groups and towards our own Atheist Alliance International organisation, the Board of Atheist Alliance International 8
anticipates completing some follow up activities during 2017. Specifically, we will seek to determine which recommendations have been implemented by our aďŹƒliate groups (and which may have already been implemented before this report was written). We will also seek to gather some feedback in relation to the measures that are perceived to be the most eective.
"It's a matter of introducing into people's consciousness the idea of gender equality as a norm, taking also into account that many atheists - like those who have had to deconvert - may still be dealing with certain patterns of thinking and of viewing gender and gender-related issues that may hinder equality." - Marie Bernardine Umali (Secular, Women and LGBT Rights Activist, Philippine Atheists and Agnostics Society).
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