Gender Equity interviews

So, let’s hear what people in our community have to say about gender equity.

What does gender equity mean to you?

Nikki Gender equity means having everyone at the same level and making adjustments to what people have, so everyone starts off on the same playing field. Peter In the context of the workplace, gender equity is about creating an equal playing field for all men, women, or however you identify. It’s about giving everyone a fair chance. Rob In the context of the workplace, I honestly haven’t really looked into it too much before, but I think it’s something to do with ensuring that all genders have equal opportunities and everything is the same and even for everyone. Treated fairly and the same regarding promotions or getting the job.

Dani To me, gender equity is making sure the rights of all people are equal, whether they are male, female, trans or not identifying. What do you do on a daily basis to keep yourself safe in public?

Nick: I walk in a lit street if there is a particular rowdy bunch of dudes but really, it’s never an issue. During the day, I’m never concerned at all. Peter I always acknowledge my surroundings and don’t go out past a certain time. I am cautious at later times in the night, but I haven’t really had any issues with that yet though. Dani I am always aware of my surroundings, I always take extra precaution visually and listen for anything that makes me feel uncomfortable. At night, in addition to using my intuition, I am hyper aware of my surroundings. I always make sure to have my phone at hand or have my keys at hand to use as a weapon. Nikki I travel a lot on my own, as a 24 year old woman, travelling alone can be quite scary, so I always message my mum; where I am, who I am with, no matter what country I am in, so if she hasn’t heard from me within the hour, she knows my last location. And it sucks that I have to do that at 24. Lemon I am 34 years old and I live very near to a train station … and I still wonder if someone is going to come out and attack me. So I always got something next to me, like my keys or something like that, to make sure that I am going to get home safe.

We interviewed: Nikki, (she/her, 18-25 years), Lemon (she/her, 34-40 years), Dani (she/her, 26-33 years), Nick (he/him, 26-33 years), Peter (he/him, 18-25 years), Rob (he/him, 18-15 years) and Josh (he/him, 18-25 years). These interviews have been edited for clarity.

Dani I make a conscious effort to uplift the women in my life in various ways. For example, I try to uplift women at work, through giving women opportunities that would have otherwise by default been given to men. I try to encourage and show support to other women, so that they feel empowered.

Do you think gender equity is important? why/why not?

Nick gender equity is important. Why? I don’t know. That is a tough question! It’s important to give everyone a fair shot but also giving everyone equal opportunities in achieving what they want to achieve. Also needs to be safe at all times and not emotionally or physically manipulated. Peter Yes, because people need equal opportunities to be able to thrive. You don’t see what someone can do or provide if you don’t offer them a level playing field. Rob Yeah, of course it is, because no matter who you are, you deserve to have the same opportunities as anyone else and be treated the same. Dani Gender equity is important because everyone should be treated equally. There are some groups in society that are marginalised and are unfairly treated due to the biases in society, and we need to abolish those inequalities. Nikki I one hundred percent think gender equity is important because at the end of the day we are human beings; we all bleed the same, we are all made up of the same things. So why should we be separated and segregated because of our gender? It seems very wrong to me. I think everyone deserves the same opportunity that everyone else has; no matter their gender, socioeconomic status or anything else. What do you actively do to enact gender equity in your daily life?

Nick I don’t actively campaign, do any volunteering or anything like that day to day. It’s more about giving everyone a fair shot regardless of prejudice, such as gender, racial, cultural. Giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, from little interactions like engaging with a waiter at the bar or hiring someone for a job. Peter I wouldn’t say that I do too much, but I do treat people evenly and fairly, regardless if they’re male, female, their age or sexuality. Rob I honestly don’t really actively promote it or anything, but in my head I know that I always treat everyone the same no matter who they are. Just because people are different to me, doesn’t mean that I’m going to treat them any differently.

After the things we discussed today, how comfortable are you in discussing gender equity?

Please rate your comfortability on a scale from 1 to 10. 10 being super comfortable. 1 being that talking about gender equity is uncomfortable. Nick: Still at a 5. Peter: About a 5 now. A bit more comfortable knowing a bit more about the subject so that helps and helps me to recognise certain things as well. Rob: I think having this conversation has helped a little bit. I’d say probably maybe a 6 now. After having a bit of a chat about it I’d say I am slightly more comfortable than I was before. Josh: I’m at a 7. If someone brings it up I’ll talk about it, but I won’t bring it up. Dani: I would say my comfort level is at a 9, because gender equity needs to be a subject that we all think about and always have at the back of our minds. Nikki: I’m at a 10. I am so confident in discussing gender equity because I don’t want my children to grow up in a world where, if they are a woman, they feel like they don’t have the same opportunities as everyone else. And I think that in 2021 the fact that us, as women, are still put below men is not good enough and not really relevant, there are other problems in the world that we need to focus on, other than putting human beings on the same equal platform.

Title of work: My Body My Choice Name: Annaliese Gee Pronouns: she/her