By @soleainesa
On May 10th thousands of people joined over 63 countries to celebrate for the first time the 50/50 Day, a project thought and carried out by the organization Let It Ripple and filmmaker Tiffany Shlain to get to a more gender-balanced world. Thousands of people watched a film that raised awareness about the importance of a gender-balanced world. The campaign was a success, with more than 11 thousand event all over the world, and 2018 edition is now being prepared. We met Tiffany and she told us what this idea is all about.
How did you come out with the idea of the 50/50 Day Campaign?
I made the 20 minute film “50/50: Rethinking the Past, Present & Future of Women + Power,” and it premiered 2 weeks before the US Presidential election when we thought we were going to have our first women president. When the results of the election were so different than what we thought, and it felt like progress was going backwards, I felt strongly that we needed a global day to talk about what it was going to take to get to a more gender balanced world.
What drives you to promote this campaign around the world?
It is a big issue everywhere. Not just in politics, but in companies, schools and at home. We need more value and opportunities for women and more balance.
What things do you think are yet to be worked on to have a 50/50 gender world?
Women are paid much less than men. Women don’t have equal representation in government and making laws and in company board rooms.
Which countries are behind the process concerning the 50/50 gender society?
I think it’s easier to point out the countries that are doing the best. Iceland just made it a country policy that women are paid the same amount as men. I think this is what needs to happen everywhere. Canada’s cabinet is 50/50 men and women. Better decisions are going to be made in Canada.
The 50/50 video shows that in the past agriculture and land conquering may have contributed to a non- equal society. Do you think that today‘s technological advances can help to get to a 50/50 gender society? Why? Why not?
Yes. The Internet is the great equalizer. My late father wrote a fantastic book on the subject called “The Alphabet versus the Goddess” about how when we were an image based society, in the time of the goddesses, women were worshipped. He wondered which event in history made all the goddesses turned into gods and he saw that it was when literacy and the alphabet were introduced into societies. Now that the Internet is bringing us back to a more image based culture, women are on the rise again.
Special Thanks to Tiffany Shlain