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Gender bias has been a longstanding problem in society, so it is no surprise that #BreakTheBias was decided as this year’s theme for International Women’s Day in March 2022.
In honor of that, HERVoice held its very first collaborative event with EqualAPU on April 1st, 2022. The event serves as a safe space in which participants, of any gender, are able to freely communicate about their experiences dealing with gender bias in their lives, and how we can all overcome it.
Gender, Interrupted
Have you ever felt like you aren’t fit for something because of your gender? Or experience a lack of confidence or often alienate yourself because you identify with a certain gender? This is what we call internalized gender bias.
A lot of us that experience internalized gender bias sometimes don’t even realize it ourselves. That’s how ingrained it is into society. Always stereotyping women as the more emotional gender, or saying that men should always be tough, it’s things like that (and more) that cause us to have these toxic thoughts within us.
Often, having these biases against ourselves makes us feel insecure, inferior, and even makes us put ourselves down and thus limiting our potential.
One of HERVoice’s leaders, Alyssa, confided that in order for her to feel like she’s strong enough to be a leader, she often tells herself to put her emotions aside whenever she feels doubts or when problems arise. It’s because leadership positions have always been traditionally considered to be filled by male roles, but in truth, showing emotions shouldn’t be coined masculine and feminine.
Body Hair, Beware
Another topic that was heavily discussed during the event is the issue of aesthetics and appearance, more specifically body hair on women.
Society has spent decades dictating what and what shouldn’t be on someone’s body. It’s normalized for women to have smooth and hairless skin, and the opposite of that is always deemed as ‘gross’, ‘undesirable’, and even ‘masculine’. Several participants that identify as women expressed how it is almost a “trend” for girls, even at a young age, to get rid of their body hair.
But body hair is natural, and removing it should be one’s own decision. It shouldn’t be labeled as masculine or feminine, just like how make-up or wearing certain clothes shouldn’t be too.
It's time we see gender as a specturm instead of two opposing ideals – Emma Watson
Best Employee, or Best Gender?
Many participants expressed that they experience gender bias when it comes to careers. For participants that identify as women in particular, they feel like it’s normalized for women to not occupy leadership positions or even go into a career that are considered predominantly “male” occupied.
During the session, a participant, Pran, told the audience about her experience when asking a teacher about what kind of job she should have when she’s older. Her teacher told her that she should be a teacher, a nurse, and other jobs related to being the caregiver.
“I remember my teacher saying something about jobs in petrol or oil company, and when I asked why women can’t do jobs like that one, my teacher only said ‘it’s because it’s for men’,” Pran elaborated.
It’s upsetting to think that a lot of people seem to still have very constrained mindsets when it comes to jobs when these limitations shouldn’t be there in the first place. Saying that “this is for men” or “this is for women” is harmful because what is important is the set of skills someone has that determines whether or not they are fit for a career. Gender shouldn’t be something that hinders someone’s ambition and passion.
So what can we do to #BreakTheBias?
It’s true that these gender biases are hard to completely fight and eradicate because it is so ingrained into society and into the values of people closest to us. In most cases, these thoughts are passed down from generation to generation, and it also depends on the social circle you surround yourself with.
But the small steps we take are still steps nonetheless. It’s still important for us to educate ourselves and other people around us. We need to become more aware of these issues, and having open conversations where people can freely share their experiences like the ones that happened in our HERNetwork x Equal Talk is one way to do so.
So let’s leave those harmful stereotypes behind and remember that nothing in life should be gendered.
Stay updated with our next HERNetwork by following us on Instagram at @hervoice.apu.
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