Lane Change has launched its second challenge, and this time it’s all about the ladies. Today is International Women’s Day, and we have five practical things you can do to Give the Ladies Some Love. Head to the site for full explanations and sign-up to the pledge.
Here are the five actions I’m taking:
1. Share with us your lady heroes
The strongest women in my life are also my best friends. They are funny, bright and beautiful, full of integrity, sensitive, humble and adventurous. All attributes I wish I could myself emulate. I’m going to name one in particular, Rachel Hills, because I have so much admiration for the smart decisions she’s made in her career and the way that she single handedly raises the bar of intelligence in whatever title she is published in. I also have to give a shout out to Charlotte Bronte and other female writers like Simon De Beauvoir, Jane Austen, Ayn Rand, Isobelle Carmody and the list goes on, for just being personal, artistic inspirations.
2. Mentor a woman
It’s hard – perhaps even more so for women – to ever come right out and say that you could qualify as a mentor. But if I really took a look at the ten years I’ve been working, five of those professionally, I’d realise that I have picked up a thing or two. And that one of the best things I can do for womankind is pass that learned knowledge on. And as Lane Change co-founder Emily D’Ath says, “it’s important not to think of mentoring as a) a long process and b) a hierarchical one. I would consider a lot of my friends here in Beijing as mentors; often we provide each other with advice about work issues or how we should develop our careers.”
Next time a friend emails you a copy of a major report they’ve been working, asks for your thoughts on their latest project, wants help crafting an email to a boss, or asks for advice about where they should take their career – all of which happened to me in the last two weeks, make a concerted effort. Give your time, attention and thoughtful feedback. The number one thing you can do to grow your community of dreamers and doers is be a cheerleader.
3. Support women overcome adversity
Despite the fact that women make up 50% of the population, they comprise of over 70% of those living in extreme poverty. Mircro-financing is just one way to support women who are facing huge obstacles in breaking out of the poverty cycle. I chose to lend to a borrower via Kiva. And because I lent money I’ve been given one free trial to give to a friend, so just click here, and Kiva will lend $25 on your behalf. You could lend to Khalida’s group in Pakistan, who will use the money to buy a sewing machine for their sewing business, or one of the many other entrepreneurs seeking loans.
4. Don’t be afraid of the F-word
What does “feminism” mean to you? It’s something I had to seriously think about in starting this challenge, and I realised that more often than not I saw it through the eyes of others. Up till now I haven’t felt comfortable calling myself a feminist – because one portion of my Facebook friends would probably roll their eyes because I’m “too hardcore”, while another portion of would probably roll their eyes because I’m “not hardcore enough”. But feminism shouldn’t be owned by anyone, and step one to reclaiming the word is just feeling OK around it. And watching the trailer Miss Representation is like being in a room of intelligent women who are ALREADY comfortable with the f-word feminism!
5. Speak out! The world is listening
A lot of us take women’s rights for granted, but today, International Women’s Day, why not dedicate one blog post, one Facebook status, one tweet, one email, or one conversation to a gender related issue that matters to you. Kind of like the way I am now!
Now it’s your turn, head to our Facebook page or website and pledge to Give the Ladies Some Love.
Name: Pinterest
In short: Think Facebook ‘likes’ meets Tumblr. Collecting all your favourite things, and discovering other people’s favourite things (and collecting them).
Popular with: Women, particularly those who like pop culture, images, pretty things.
The buzz: (From Mashable)
Pinterest is social media’s rising star — and now has the traffic stats to prove it.
The darling network of brides-to-be, fashionistas and budding bakers now beats YouTube, Reddit, Google+, LinkedIn and MySpace for percentage of total referral traffic in January, according to a Shareaholic study.
Pinterest accounted for 3.6% of referral traffic, while Twitter just barely edged ahead of the newcomer, accounting for 3.61% of referral traffic. In July 2011, Pinterest accounted for just 0.17% of referral traffic, proving the site’s blockbuster growth.
(Only Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Yahoo! outrank Pinterest in terms of referral traffic.)
Campaign potential: I’ve often wondered how we could better utilize my NGO’s incredible bank of photos and this might be the way. A pinterest board full of gorgeous, moving, “pin-able” photos or slogans might do really well. And the referral traffic could turn what is essentially a ‘superficial engagement’ (I just like this pretty picture/ animal/ place/ slogan) into a deeper engagement once they click and read any related stories. To really get the message across, pair amazing photos with moving or catchy slogans and sound bites.
For more info: This infographic from Mashable is a neat summary of Pinterest, how to use it, and why it’s relevant.
I was doing a bit of snooping on the Change.org wikipedia entry today:
- Change.org currently have a great petition calling on Apple to improve working conditions of their iPhone factories in China.
- One of Change.org three CEOs is Adam Cheyer.
- Adam Cheyer is also co-founder of Siri and is currently a director of engineering in the iPhone group at Apple.
My mind = blown.
Image (cc) Tambako the Jaguar
1 Foxconn factory where iPhones are produced 2 Apple iPhone 4S launch in Beijing 3 Phone parts for recycling in Zhejiang Province
China has such a weird relationship with the iPhone. The world is having major guilt pangs about their iPhone habit ever since This American Life did a piece about factory life in China. And there is currently a petition doing the rounds that has attracted over 200,000 signatures calling on Apple to name suppliers who have violated standards.
None of this has put the brakes on sales in China itself though.
Frankly, I feel sorrier for the poor bastards in Guiyu who live in mountains of e-waste, sorting through electronic trash that is imported from around the world, for recycling. Their working conditions and pay are far worse than Foxconn factory workers.
The iPhone comes full circle.
In response to my last post in which I called on a hip, Sydney café to replace their disposable chopsticks with reusable ones reader Cas had this to say:
You might want to check if the chopsticks were wood or bamboo. If they are bamboo then they are the most environmentally friendly. Think about it – what kind of impact do you think it has on the environment to produce plastic ones? (which actually have a very short lifespan). Plastic is made in factories using huge amounts of electricity and water, and plastic is made from guess what . . . OIL! There is nothing wrong with disposable wooden or paper products, providing they are from renewable resources and are then recycled afterwards. They actually have the least impact on the environment.
I have to confess I hadn’t taken the damaging environmental effects of plastic into account and she brings up a really great point. I wrote to Cas and asked her (him?) for any data/links to support what she said. Here’s what she said:
Sorry, I don’t have any direct links to data, but I do work in the product and packaging design field, so I encounter these dilemmas often and take note of findings especially as I try to design as eco-friendly products as I possibly can.
I know that bamboo is farmed, renewable, and natural. It does not require fertilizers or large amounts of water to grow. It grows fast and does not necessarily require chemicals to process. Plastic however is made purely from oil by-products and requires large amounts of water plus heat and cooling during manufacturing which also uses fossil fuels. The type of plastic that chopsticks are made from is neither recyclable nor biodegradable. It also has a very short life span – you would be surprised. Some restaurants buy new ones every few months!! So these go to landfill and stays there forever, where-as if properly governed, wooden products can be both pulped and made into other products, or mulched and used in agricultural applications. Therefore continuing a cycle of life rather than having just one life. This is key to good products.
Please don’t get me wrong – I don’t agree at all with businesses using excessive amounts of take away or disposable materials as they are only good if the waste is handled properly, but it is a common misconception that using natural products like wood is bad. Most people do not know where alternative products come from – since the influx in the 50s we have just become accustomed to plastic without considering its impact on the environment.
I decided to put her comments to one of the forests campaigners at the environmental NGO I work for. While he wouldn’t give me a definitive answer he was insistent that – from a forests point of view anyway – reusable over disposable was preferable and added:
In China the bamboo chopsticks are so cheap (2 cents or less per pair), people throw them away as garbage! It costs more to recycle them, and it uses more water and other resources to recycle them that people don’t.
He brings up a good point. In an ideal world disposable bamboo chopsticks might have minimal impact on the environment, but the infrastructure isn’t really in place right now to make that the case. At least not in China. You can’t think about products in isolation – the systems they exist in – and be that needing to change that system – is equally important.
That said, ending our addiction to oil is definitely important. But there is a solution to combine the best of both chopstick worlds. What about sustainably farmed, reusable bamboo chopsticks (and preferably recycled)?
And if you were wondering here in China I carry with me the pictured pair of chopsticks that are made of metal and sustainably sourced wood that comes from an indigenous tribe people in Papua New Guinea. They use wood cut from trees that are old and sick. (And yes, I know I’m coming off as a total new age hippie. Guess I better start working on my dreds!)
