I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own. – Audre Lorde
I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. – Malala Yousefzai
Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women. – Maya Angelou
Background
International Women’s Day (IWD) is an inclusive, worldwide celebration when people come together to celebrate women’s achievements and rally for women’s equity. As the website for International Women’s Day states, “Everyone, everywhere can play a part in helping forge gender equality.” This prompt is an invitation to show your commitment to one of the IWD missions or advocate for this year’s IWD theme.
Instructions
Think of a time when someone took a stand to challenge gender inequality, call out gender bias, question gender stereotypes or make a community more inclusive for women. The person who took a stand with their voice or actions could be you! It could also be someone you know or some public figure. What was the situation, how did the person take a stand, and what difference did it make? If you were the person, how did it feel to take a stand in this way? If you were just an observer, how did it feel to witness or learn about this event?
Describe the event in detail so we can appreciate what it took to take a stand in this instance. Next explore why using your voice or actions to challenge gender inequality can be difficult but rewarding. Finally, make a case for why we can all benefit from working to create a more inclusive world.
Audience
There may be a few different types of people in your audience. Some readers may recognize that gender inequality is a problem, but they are not sure what they can do to make a difference. They need a nudge to take action. Others in your audience may not realize just how important this issue is but are open to considering it newly from your perspective.
Purpose
Your primary purpose is to inspire readers to take a stand or be allies with those who do. Along with that, you are helping readers to see the benefits of living in a more inclusive society.
Process
- Seek inspiration. Explore stories about the IWD missions: forging change, at work, in technology, creatives, empowerment, health, sport, or explore this year’s theme.
- Reflect on examples. Think of the gender inequities, stereotypes or biases you have witnessed or experienced firsthand. Can you think of times when you spoke up or took action? Or times when you wished you had? Can you think of times when someone else took a stand and it made you inspired or uncomfortable? If personal experiences don’t come to mind, reflect on examples from current events or history that stand out to you.
- Find your focus. From your list, pick the example that left the biggest impression on you, one that you’ll be able to describe in detail.
- Analyze your audience. What bias or assumptions might they bring to the table as readers? What feelings do you want to engage in them? A feeling of empathy? injustice? hope?
- Freewrite on the three parts of the prompt. 1) The example you participated in or observed. 2) Why taking a stand is difficult but rewarding. 3) Why a more inclusive world is beneficial to everyone.
- Look for themes. Are there any big ideas that you have mentioned in all three parts of your freewrite? What are the common themes? How can you use these to bring focus to your piece?
- Draft, revise, edit. Now that you’ve done all the thinking and planning, write a blog post that targets your audience and achieves your purpose.
- Title. A title will be especially important here. One technique to consider may be finding a meaningful phrase that you used somewhere in the essay itself and making that your title. Something that will spark readers’ curiosity about the topic.
Reflect
How did that feel? Do you have a better sense of how one person can make a difference? Are there other issues you feel strongly about and want to inspire others to tackle? Take a moment to appreciate what you’ve accomplished by speaking up about equity and inclusion. Where do you want to go from here?