Using online platforms to influence social change and make a difference

The online world provides us more than just information, it provides a platform to campaign for the things that matter to us. So, I am embracing my enterprise to raise awareness of the gender inequality in senior roles, as it is a social issue that is still apparent and is an issue that I want to see change for future female leaders.

Gender inequality in senior roles is apparent as women are less likely to study in the higher earning fields such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), less likely to progress to higher levels; as time is taken off to bare and care for children and are usually engaged in part-time or casual work which can negatively impact on career progression and accrue barriers to leadership roles. That being said, I was interested to see if other people acknowledged the inequality in senior roles, so I contacted a few of my friends (male and female) who mostly work for large organisations and I asked them “Are the more senior roles in your organisation occupied by mostly male or female” and all them indicated male. According to Workplace Gender Equality Agency, there are less women in leadership roles than men, as women are under-represented and do not have the support or opportunities (mentoring programs and networking supports) to access these leadership roles. The phenomenon of the glass ceiling, segregates women into particular management occupations (human resources, public relations, communications management, finance and administration), this is mainly due to historical social gender norms (gender stereotypes). As these social customs are the barrier for women reaching to the top, what better way to confront this under-representation through social media raising awareness, empowering supporters, influencing collective action and creating a sense of community. Change can occur with the support of policies (providing new information, prompting different attitudes and values), changing perspectives on social gender norms (providing more education to females and males) and recognising as well as challenging gender norms (using communication, media and online platforms to spread knowledge and support). To help push for this change, more people need to have the knowledge and awareness of the current barriers women face when attaining leadership roles and sharing this knowledge on social media platforms can have a powerful impact.

The `hashtag activist’, show how influential social media can be and is changing the way we advocate for social change, for example, #heforshe advocates for gender equality in all walks of life with the support of men advocating for this change. Digital activism is bringing social issues to light and creating strong social movements to place pressure on governments to force necessary change, it also provides an opportunity for people to collaborate and make changes where governments fail to assist. However, it is important to note the dark side of digital activism particularly relating to feminist activists, Jane (2014) gives a very disturbing insight into online misogyny and the hard truth about the black lash women receive when advocating for gender equality in public-life, personal-life and work-life. It is hostile, confronting, cruel and unacceptable; it shows the degree of misogynist views that are still evident today. It is easy to see how online misogyny aims to silence women on advocating for equality, as having a voice also makes you an easy target for hostile misogynists. It should not be tolerated and those in power (governments and CEO’s) and strong social influencers (men and women academics, journalist and celebrities) need to drive this change.

So as a collective community we need to advocate for gender equality not only in the workplace but in all areas. We need to raise awareness to reach all audiences, change the way people think and challenge social gender norms so that we can make a difference for our future women leaders. #womenleadership