A challenged world is an alert world. From challenge comes change.
International Women's Day 2021
It’s International Women’s Day, a global day to celebrate women and the achievements of women all over the world, including social, political, economic and cultural. It is also a day to raise awareness of the ongoing gender inequality and bias which is deeply integrated in all walks of life. Not a single country is set to achieve gender equality by 2030: the UK slipped down 6 places in the gender rankings between 2018 and 2019 and is currently 21st in global rankings.
This year, the theme of International Women’s Day 2021 (#IWD2021) is #ChoosetoChallenge. Gender equality intertwines with disadvantage and bias in many different circumstances, including economic, social and cultural, so by challenging inequality many people are also supported. Related to this, access to nature is not equal: less wealthy people and ethnic minorities live further from green spaces across the UK.
At the RSPB, our history is built from women who chose to challenge the world around them. Emily Williamson founded the Society for the Protection of Birds (SPB) in Manchester in 1889, joining forces with Eliza Philips and Margaretta ‘Etta’ Smith to campaign against the use of feathers in the hat trade and the ways in which humans related to animals. In the early days, the society consisted entirely of women and it was so successful that in in 1904, it was granted Royal Charter. Fast forward 132 years from our establishment, the RSPB is a far larger and broader organisation, with women conservationists to communications experts, working in a huge variety of roles to act for nature (take a watch of an IWD special of Notes of Nature TV to hear about some of these roles!).
Paula Baker is the Site Manager for RSPB Scotland Loch Lomond and has been working for the RSPB for the past 16 years:
“My role with the RSPB can be quite complex but I love the variety and challenge that it presents. One day I'll be working on the creation of a new wetland to improve and expand habitat for rare birds, the next we’ll be revamping our visitor facilities and thinking about new ways to engage and inspire our audiences. A highlight for me is seeing projects that I have been working on for many years start to come to fruition. The RSPB has changed significantly since I started back in 2005; even when I started at Loch Lomond it was still pretty unusual to be a female site manager, but that most certainly is no longer the case and I'm proud of the work the RSPB has done and continues to do to challenge inequalities in the conservation sector”
We continue to be an organisation lead by and made up of many extremely hardworking, inspiring women in a huge range of roles, who continue to challenge for change and to save nature. Most of the RSPB management leads (including our CEO and Country Directors, as well as many of those in senior management positions) are women, with our CEO, Beccy Speight, recently named in the ‘Woman’s Hour Power List: Our Planet’ (2020) amongst other amazing and inspiring women making leading change for and challenges to save our world.
Here in Scotland, Anne McCall, RSPB Scotland Director, has worked in the organisation for more than 18 years and now leads our diverse conservation work across the country, from community projects and reserve work to high level campaign and Scottish Government advocacy.
From left to right: Emily Williamson, Founder of the Society for the Protection of Birds, Anne McCall, RSPB Scotland Director, and Beccy Speight RSPB Chief Executive Officer
However, the recently published Gender Equality Index 2020 findings highlighted that major gender inequalities persist in Scotland.
The environment sector is also known to be lacking diversity. At the RSPB we are challenging ourselves to make changes to improve our equality, diversity, and inclusivity. We are reviewing and questioning our actions, and seeking opportunities to make access to nature, and roles in nature conservation more accessible and diverse. In Scotland, we have 17 EDI (Equality, Diversity and Inclusion) Champions, who champion these changes and challenge colleagues to consider the EDI impacts of their decisions. However, we know there is still more to do, and we will continue to challenge ourselves to do more.
‘Choosing to challenge inequalities and biases that you see all around you is time consuming and frequently exhausting. For me, this is why it is absolutely crucial that we share this burden around and support each other. I benefit from multiple privileges, so I know that this means I have extra work to do. My experience of gender inequality is only one small part of larger picture, and so it is only a fraction of what I choose to challenge. It cannot fall just to those experiencing discrimination and bias of any kind to find unlimited time and energy to unravel those issues on top of having to deal with the personal consequences. Widening support networks can help us lift each other up and provide the space to take a rest when we need to. It is also about ensuring that we challenge in an intersectional way and are constantly broadening our understanding of issues from the perspectives multiple lived experiences. This way of working together provides me with hope- the more perspectives and dimensions that we join together, the more sustainable and fair the solutions we build will be.’ Bethan, Supporter Participation Project Manager, RSPB Scotland
When inequality and bias against women is apparent, everyone must take action. While we can reflect on, appreciate, and encourage women’s efforts to challenge and change our world, the responsibility cannot be just on women to make the challenges. There must be a diverse, united and equitable future ahead of us. Today, let’s the time to celebrate the successes of the women close by and everywhere in the world, and #ChoosetoChallenge gender inequality.