For the second part of my blog series, I chose to discuss the topic of Female Role Models and their importance in motivating women, particularly in the areas of sport and business.
I was inspired by the 20x20 Campaign. The initiative – which is backed by Lidl, AIG, Investec, Three and KPMG – aims to increase media coverage, attendance and overall participation in women's sports events by 20% over the next two years. In the official campaign video, several young girls were asked who their favourite sports stars were. In their responses, each of the girls recounted a male as their favourite sport star. Many of the girls struggled to name one female sport star and explained that how even today, women’s sport is not prioritised in the way that male sport is. I for one could certainly relate to the young girls’ feelings on this, as well as their all-too-real account of not being passed the ball/being picked last for sporting teams in school after the boys - and I feel that I may not be alone in this.
The tag line and message that this campaign aims to promote is: "If she can't see it, she can't be it". It is sad, but very much a reality for many women who possess this ingrained belief that certain things are not achievable or possible due to several gender-based factors, including simply a lack of female role models to aspire to. A role model can have a profound effect on you. It is someone who you look up to, who inspires you and someone who you would like to be like. This is why role models are so important for people, but particularly for females and other underrepresented groups - they are a force that holds the power to change perception. Another big factor at play is implicit bias; a form of stereotyping, which is the unconscious attribution of particular qualities to members of a certain social group. You can test your own personal bias and find out how high your levels of automatic association between females/males & careers/family are by completing the Gender-Career Implicit Association Test (IAT) here. You might be surprised!
The issue of lack of representation of female role models can certainly be seen in sport but is also pertinent in the world of Business – particularly in the area of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The more female leaders that are seen in top positions in these organisations, the more this will be regarded as a realistic career path for girls. Role models and influences don’t just take the form of sports stars, celebrity entrepreneurs or household names. For many young people, family and even teachers can be looked upon as role models that shape their beliefs and the path that they take. According to Accenture, family and teachers are a bigger influence for girls than they are for boys. Interestingly, this report also found that more than half of teachers (53%) said they have witnessed girls drop STEM subjects due to pressure from their parents, while 58% of parents said they have witnessed children drop STEM subjects due to issues with their teachers. For me in school, there was always the common misconception that girls should do Art or Home Economics and boys should do Woodwork or DCG - children are all too often persuaded to believe that, in certain subjects, their abilities are defined by their gender.
If we are going to see genuine change in the issue of gender diversity, we need to get to the root of the problem. I believe that the root of this problem exists somewhat in the upbringing of children and the education system that they pass through. I feel that if the problems are stamped out early on at this level (as in females being given more role models and encouragement in these early stages), then more young women could be inspired and encouraged to take up sports, to start a career in STEM, or simply to be the best person they can be in whatever they choose to do, without barriers.
The Irish business landscape has seen real positive change in women’s confidence in recent years through the introduction of various initiatives aimed at addressing the issue of a lack of female role models and gender diversity as a whole, but there is still a long way to go. I’ve discussed some of these initiatives in my first blog post. If you are interested in finding out more about some of Ireland’s brightest female role models, there are several key events and awards that celebrate women and their various successes and achievements listed here;