Last Wednesday, Ipswich School celebrated International Women’s Day with a panel of eight Sixth Formers talking to Year 7 and 8 girls in the Lower School Common Room.

Through a series of questions which had been tabled by the Lower School girls, they discussed the hardships that come with being a woman in terms of the concerning problem of gender inequality. This included addressing the issues of discrimination in the workplace such as the gender pay gap. Questions included ‘Is it right that women get paid less than men in the same job?’ ‘Are there some jobs which women are less likely to do?’ All of which are prominent concerns in the UK and wider society. Answers from the panel included the fascinating statistic that in the UK there’s never been a female Secretary of State for Defence, a female Premiership football manager, a female Lord Chief Justice, or a female Leader of the Labour Party.

In addition, they considered the matter of body image and the panel expressed how they had struggled with body image as many women do due to the constant changing unrealistic beauty standards. One panelist reminded the Lower School girls that their bodies should not be trends, they should be something for living and enjoying life in. They also communicated how as they matured, they had found this issue less troubling, and said it was important to recognise that we can all have bad days, but we can support each other through these.

Miss Woodmansey opened the session by talking about the theme of International Women’s Day #EmbraceEquity. She explained that equality – meaning that everyone is treated equally, and equity – that everyone is treated in a way to account for their needs are often confused. She gave an analogy using chocolate: if you give two people a bar of chocolate each that means they are equal. But if one is dairy free, and therefore cannot eat the chocolate then you are not achieving equity, if you give this person some sweets, then they both have something to eat which meets their needs. This is of course something which is relevant to not just women, but other groups as well. It was great that the Sixth Formers took the
panel as it gave the opportunity for more relevant responses to the questions that the girls wanted answered. It also provided role models for them from within our own school community. Thank you to Gracie J, Petra T, Alice A, Rowan C, Rachael M, Emmanuella I, Bo H and Cara P for giving up their time and speaking so eloquently.

Abby C and Lucia P, Year 11