The Oxford English Dictionary defines the phenomenon of the ‘Glass Ceiling’ as “an unacknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially affecting women and members of minorities.” For centuries, societal scrutiny and prejudice squashed women beneath a ceiling, able to see what they wanted, but incapable of touching it. Women have been treated as inferiors, confined to minimal salaries and even unsolicited sexual advances, unfairly placed in predestined ‘roles’. But, surely, you say, this can’t be happening all that much now? Right? Wrong.
The British newspaper, The Financial Times, recently reported on the 10th November 2017, theorized that this was the day of the year that women started working for ‘free’. A strange concept that takes some explanation. Basically, the average amount of money men bring in after this date, until January 1st 2018, amounts to the average pay gap between the salaries of men and women in the same jobs. And -get this- if things keep moving at this rate, the pay gap will only close in 2118. That’s 100 years from now. We’ll just let that sink in.
Women of Hollywood are also speaking out about sexual assault, experienced on jobs as bribery for film roles, coupled with threats and fear mongering. Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner… We’re looking at you. Clearly, the ‘glass ceiling’ we thought had been fractured by the Suffragette movement, the #HeforShe campaign, Exeter’s own #NeverOk campaign, and multiple others, is made of tougher stuff than we could ever imagine.
So, here at the Culture Section of HCX, we trawled our libraries, movies, history books and more to find 5 of the most inspirational women who have eliminated or are eliminating glass ceilings– either political, social, economic, sexual or otherwise. Right now, we need some powerful inspiration, and if these women haven’t got it, we don’t know who has.
Gal Gadot- Actress and Human Rights Activist
Amazonian strength, poltical activism and strength all combine in Gal Gadot. Upon hearing that Brett Ratner, who was involved in the production of the first Wonder Woman film, had been accused of sexual assault, Gadot immediately refused to sign up for the next Wonder Woman franchise, if he was involved. It was either her, the main protagonist in a film all about female empowerment, or him. An inspiration to all of us to stand up for what is right? We think so!
Queen Elizabeth I- Second Queen of England and ‘Defender of the Faith’
The sassiest, most powerful Queen that England has ever seen- Elizabeth I. Deemed a bastard from birth; cajouled by male advisors from every angle and threatened by political plots at home and abroad- this feisty red-head had multiple glass ceilings to smash. Remaining unmarried to protect her female autonomy and control over England, she also became the first female monarch to stand on the battlefield with her troops, giving a rousing speech at Tilbury, where she declared herself to have the “heart and stomach of a King, and a King of England too”. Well played, Elizabeth, well played.
Reese Witherspoon- Actress, Producer and Entrepeneur
Why, in almost every Hollywood movie, is there a moment where the woman turns to the male protagonist and asks “What do we do now?” Reese Witherspoon’s speech at the 2017 Glamour Woman of the Year Awards explores both the issues of feminine autonomy, representation and suppression in both Hollywood, and elsewhere. If this speech doesn’t get you motivated to go and fight for what you believe in- we don’t know what will.
Emmeline Pankhurst- Political Activist and Leader of the Women’s Suffrage Movement
This is the woman we have to thank, amongst countless others, for our right to have a say in our country’s political future. Leader of the Women’s Suffrage Movement in the early 1900s, Emmeline Pankhurst organised marches, protests, skillfully woven strikes and more to put pressure on the UK government to give women the vote. Her rousing story has now been made into a film, starring another inspirational and powerful woman, Meryl Streep- well worth the watch!
Anna Julia Cooper- American author, Educator, Sociologist, Speaker and Black Liberation activist
Anna Julia Cooper was born into enslavement in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1858. She was given a scholarship aged 8 to a school for former slaves. Although the school had a special track reserved for women – dubbed the “Ladies’ Course” – and the administration actively discouraged women from pursuing higher-level courses, Cooper fought for her right to take a course reserved for men, by demonstrating her scholastic ability. She later became the fourth African-American woman to gain a doctorate from a US university, becoming a Black Rights Activist, inspirational speaker and feminist writer. And the powerful inscription on all American passports? “The cause of freedom is not the cause of a race or a sect, a party or a class – it is the cause of humankind, the very birthright of humanity.” Oh yeah, that was her too.
HCX hopes these few examples out of a multitude of powerful women will give us all the inspiration we need today, and indeed everyday!