The conversation around equality, dismantling the patriarchy, and equal opportunities for all, cannot be placed solely on us women. It’s a conversation that involves everyone. So in honour of International Women’s Day, we asked the men of Abacus to share their take on ally-ship, gender equality, and the women who have impacted them.
Dane
The women in my life have impacted me a great deal. I’ve been blessed with an extremely caring mother, my sister is the funniest person I know, my partner is the love of my life, and the talented/intelligent women I’ve had the pleasure of working with throughout my advertising career have shaped who I am as an Accounts person.
Equality means a lot of different things to me, but I think it goes way above topics like pay (which is still super important), and is more about treating each other with mutual respect in day-to-day interactions.
In order for men to become better allies we first need to address that there is a discrepancy, and more importantly, hold ourselves accountable for our actions. The final step is to be vocal alongside women about how we plan to change and be better.
Stasio
Become a better ally by reading, researching, and listening. Changing the status quo doesn’t happen overnight, but equality for all is certainly worth the effort.
Adam
I’ve seen thousands of briefing documents that state a female consumer target, yet women are rarely the decision-makers when it comes to what ideas are best suited to engage and entertain this prime consumer. Weird.
Felipe
For a time in my childhood, my mom was the sole provider for our family for 6 years. She showed me that women are the toughest, no matter what.
Michael
To me, equality means the same personal and structural opportunities are available regardless of one’s sex, gender, race, abilities/disabilities, socio-economic class, or any other perceived differentiator. Recognizing the privileges that many groups are born into is an important step towards equality.
Men need to recognize and change the day to day inequalities faced by women in their life. We need to end the microaggressions and systemic barriers put in place that currently make true equality unattainable. It’s up to men to start the conversation and make the change.
Asking men to share their opinion for International Women’s Day may seem like an odd request, but change won’t be possible unless we are all on board. True gender equality benefits everyone and whether we like to admit it or not, we need our male allies to achieve it.
-Ellen & Nicole
