I am delighted that our residents have taken the initiative to support the HeForShe Campaign for Gender Equality.
As an Association of Graduates, the very fabric of our Graduate Union is to be egalitarian and inclusive. We are a gender inclusive association where women and men from around the world join together to learn and use education for the good of our societies. As Graduates we reflect on the importance of learning, leadership and teaching others.
We have an opportunity to work together to be advocates for change for gender equality. The promotion of gender equality in our communities is an important expression of our respect for all of humanity. It is essential that girls and women are treated as equals, with respect and given equal opportunity.
I commend to you the initiative of the He For She Campaign in support of gender equality and strongly encourage you to join with fellow residents to ensure we make a difference so gender equality becomes reality.
Best wishes for every success with the campaign.
Learn more about the HeForShe campaign at Graduate House and get involved today!
featured image: jeanbaptisteparis Handshake / flickrcc
HeforShe sounds good in principle. Gender equity is desirable. However, will it mean items of personal etiquette between the sexes will cease? For instance: Should men no longer stand back and allow women to enter or leave lifts or doors first? – Should men no longer walk on the outside of footpaths when accompanying women to protect them from potential harm? – Should men no longer stand ready to push a woman’s chair in to the table at dinner? – Should men no longer doff their hat to a woman when meeting? – Should men no longer give up their seat on public transport to a standing woman? -Should men longer offer to carry a woman’s heavy bag?- Should women retain their maiden name upon marriage? – Should women refrain from adjusting men’s ties in public? I could go on but won’t!
Thank you for your comments, Richard. These matters aren’t simple at all, and we’re very glad that you have shared your thoughts with us. You make very valid points. Through HeForShe we would like to try to say that gender equality is about unity, coming to mutual agreements, and respecting everyone equally, irrespective of gender – or anything else. We know that you might not be able to be here for the HeForShe procession on August 23rd and wanted to say ‘thank you’ for being a gentleperson. For more on HeForShe see http://graduatehouse.com.au/join-us/heforshe.
I fully agree that we all gain by implementing equality; it’s what the religions teach; even though religion’s adherents have, re its universal implementation, been very much at the learning stage… More specifically, the religions teach the “golden rule”, which I interpret as:
“Living & working together, as an equality team, for the good of the whole society & planet, according to conscience; including an understanding interest in our neighbours that enables us to treat them on an equality basis; i.e. to treat them as we’d like to be treated, when in the neighbours’ situations & the neighbours in our own; while kindly helping each other to find, develop & best maintain our individual unique equality role in society that only s/he can do best.”
This life philosophy contrasts, I find, with the philosophy that’s based on the hitherto general understanding of the “Theory of Evolution”; an understanding that: 1) sees harsh competition to be evolution’s driving force (the ‘fittest’ surviving); i.e. the driving force for progress and 2) has, from my experience, been the underlying life-principle of secular education:
It’s, of course, true that harsh competition, with the ‘fittest’ surviving, is very evident within our planet’s nature; but this nature also shows, more subtly, the alternative ecological way of life, as based on the “golden rule”; and it becomes clear that, once the individuals in any society have become INTERdependent, then ONLY the ecological (“golden rule”) way of life leads to sustainable wellness & survival of the respective society &, hence, its individuals:
The ecological driving force for progress being the particularly strong force in each individual [once the individual within an INTERdependen society (which we are on our planet) becomes sufficiently aware] that logically aims for sustainable wellness (including freedom from boredom); i.e. the force that results from the logical realisation that sustainable wellness in our situation can ONLY be attained on the ecological (“golden rule”) basis.
This is, I find, clearly illustrated on the cellular level; e.g. amongst the roughly 100 trillion cells of the human body: Once cells, in such a cellular community, stop performing their individual ecological role and revert to their more primitive harshly competitive ways (for whatever reason, e.g. being overstressed due to circumstances), as in the case of cancer cells, they not only endanger their own wellness & survival but also that of the whole cellular community.
The ecologic (“golden rule”) way doesn’t, of course, exclude all competition, only the harsh competition that violates the “golden rule”; thus, for example, happily allowing friendly good-sportsmanship games; yet the “golden rule” encourages us to thoroughly heal, as a first priority, all dire need on our planet to an equality state; as none of us would like to be in dire need…