by Kirsten McKeon (guest)
My first impression was that I’ve never been in a room with so many women! I attended a predominately male technical college, then worked in the investment banking field, including training. While I’ve attended plenty of large conferences and have been fortunate enough to work with a number of internationally diverse groups, I have never been to an event that was not only led by women, but had an over 90% female presence.
The atmosphere was overwhelming with so much diversity, with so many of the world’s flags represented, with so many events to choose from, and with a crowd uncharacteristically friendly and inviting for midtown Manhattan.
The FAWCO event on Deepfakes was incredible. The experiences were frightening to listen to as intelligent, respectable women shared how they were discredited, exploited, and had their professional and personal reputations destroyed. As a woman extensively involved in the tech world, panelist Breeze seemed like such an unlikely victim of deepfake. But it was wonderful to see them fight back effectively, such as the politician who was slandered during her campaign and succeeded in changing Virginia law. She enlightened my thinking with the great point that women are the victims of exploitation no matter what their personal circumstances are at the time.
The hidden gem for me was the Driving Actionable Change and Strengthening Global Solidarity Among Indigenous Women event on March 11. Women on this panel spoke about undoing the damage that compounded as women continued to lose power and experience high rates of sexual violence after colonization and reinforcement of societal “roles.” Policies perpetuated the marginalization of women and actually heightened the prevalence of gender-based violence. The discrimination and patriarchal structure created excluded women generation after generation.
There is now a critical need to restore Indigenous women to their rightful place in their homelands. There needs to be complete and equal involvement in the decision-making processes. Women need to lead without limits and without fear of reprisal for exposing violence, including extermination.
Canadian Native Melanie Omeniho’s mother Marjorie spoke at the Beijing conference in 1995 as a voice for the Indigenous. Melanie spoke at this conference as Tribal Canada continues to have to fight for reproductive rights. Indigenous women from around the world spoke about still fighting for accessibility to health and reproductive care. The cycle of poverty needs to be stopped, with necessary sustainable support of at least $70 million.
A woman talked about “being disappeared” in her country. Women literally have no voice for fear that even children will be taken if they dare try to play outside. She emphasized not putting the burden on women who are beaten or imprisoned for speaking out, and to see every act of defiance as part of the history of those who refuse to be erased.
The key message of another event (Turning Pushback Into Progress) was to take action instead of being paralyzed by fear. The UK Special Envoy for Women and Girls, Baroness Harriet Harman, said “Don’t Panic – Organize!” She shared how the UK Parliament went from almost all male to almost 40% female over the past few decades. In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum has created a Ministry for Women as a driving force for changes in advancing society. Recently, there were almost 200,000 people at a women’s march in Mexico to protect women’s rights and gender equality.
Some themes and quotes to remember:
- “Make it Better for us, but also for those that come after. Keep love in heart.”
- “Look to see who is not in the room. And then make sure they are included.”
- “Leave the door open or build a door if there is none.”
- Create safe spaces for young women where there are not enough, and let them know that “You are enough.”
- Show young people where the trails are, so they walk where we’ve already walked and learn what we have already learned.
- Continue to use strategies that have most effectively advanced gender equality over the last 30 years.
- Right now, the threat of rollback is so strong because the progress was so successful. Keep going!
- In crisis there is an opportunity to collaborate, and innovate. Seize the moment – it is a “Crisitunity.”
- There is an activist in every chair driving change.
Before attending this conference, I knew I could include my own experiences in the “Me Too” movement, but I had not thought so thoroughly about the ongoing exploitation of women, and women trapped in perpetual poverty and gender-based struggles because of societal rules and roles assigned to them. I wouldn’t say I went so far as to blame the victims, but I did lack an empathy that is all too common overall in my American society. I had never heard the voices of so many women speaking THEIR minds. This conference experience was unexpected and remarkable, giving plans of action to improve the quality of life for more than half the world’s population – given by representatives of that sorely underrepresented half of the population.
I’m not sure yet of what my role should be in driving change, but this conference made me aware that it needs to be something. I have worked the election polls for the past few years, so as a start I will be joining the American League of Women Voters. I will look more carefully for opportunities now that my filter has been lifted.