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On July 4, the second monthly meeting of the community was held, in which we had as guest Elena Espil , psychologist and research professor from the University of Buenos Aires, who specializes in Women and Gender Studies.
We had proposed her to give us a brief informal talk on women's leadership and gender issues in order to open the debate among us on such relevant issues. Gender Studies, as she told us, is a very complex and relatively new discipline, and one that entails strong controversies.
She first introduced us to the history of Gender Studies and then she shared with us some of the main theoretical notions of the Women Studies’ framework (it must be noted, however, the Gender Studies is a branch of the latter). We didn’t just learn but we also started to question many of our habits and beliefs which more often than not act as obstacles in our careers.
One of these notions, for example, the glass ceiling, points at how hard is for women to reach high positions in the workplace not only due to external factors but surprisingly as a consequence of a strong inner belief of not being able to achieve such a goal.
After the meeting we started questioning our own prejudices, ideals, standards and we all remained with a strong desire to delve deeper into these matters that pertain both to women and men. But above all we agreed that our first and main commitment should be the raising of awareness. We need to be aware of our thoughts, expectations and practices when it comes to gender differences in the workplace to avoid gender bias a frequent form of subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) discrimination for gender reasons.
Gender equality in the workplace will add to a more balanced form of leadership combining both styles, male and female, and more.
