聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Cornerstone Family and Youth's Girls Group 鈥渢ossed their tiaras鈥� at a recent presentation by author and diversity strategist, Jeanne Martinson. Martinson led the girls through a workshop-based on her book, 鈥淭ossing the Tiara鈥�- which aims to inspire and encourage young women to embrace leadership roles.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淲omen are needed at all levels as leaders,鈥� says Martinson, the author of seven books. 鈥淎nd we don't have to wait until we're older. Young women can run for school office, for example. And they can adopt a leadership mindset early. By understanding how we as women got where we are today and making different decisions, we can reduce the gap between reality and aspiration when it comes to things like the gender wage gap and having more women sit on the boards of corporations in Canada, for example.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淲e're absolutely committed to encouraging our girls to reach their potential as people,鈥� says CFY coordinator, Jenn Sedor. 鈥淎nd Jeanne's presentation-and the workshop format- allows the girls to actively learn about leadership in all aspects of their lives.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Martinson says that 鈥淭ossing the Tiara鈥� addresses 鈥渉ow fairytales impart how it is we think, as girls and women.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淔airytales are one of the earliest influences we have as children,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd they are one of the ways we're taught how to think about ourselves, other girls, and guys. The stories have been around for over 400 years and with Disney, especially, most young women have encountered fairytales during their childhoods.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 聽Martinson's opinion is that 鈥渋n the Disney versions of these stories, there are a lot of evil stepmothers. And there's an underlying theme throughout the films that set us up for a lot of non-action. In Cinderella, we're told that there will always be a fairy godmother to save us. In Sleeping Beauty, girls are told that one day their prince will come. In Snow White, her beauty is dangerous and in Beauty and the Beast, the message to women is that it's always our duty to change the man in our lives.'
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚t's a really crippling influence, especially when it's combined with another pervasive Disney message-that we should be the perfect princess.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭hese narratives continue throughout women's lives,鈥� adds Martinson. 鈥淚n Cinderella, the Prince saves Cinderella from poverty. In the movie, Pretty Woman, it's the same story. A wealthy guy rescues a gal and they live happily ever after. But the problem with this message is that it teaches us not to take care of ourselves-especially economically.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Martinson says the gender wage gap still exists in Canada, with men still out-earning women on many fronts.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淣inety-four percent of聽 the heads of Canada's largest corporations are held by guys,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd 86 percent of positions on corporate boards in this country are held by men,鈥� she says, adding that this is due to factors such as historical inertia, occupational segregation, female caregiving and聽 advancing levels of education for women not automatically translating into equal pay.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淗ow do we reduce the gap between reality and aspiration?鈥� says Martinson. 鈥淔irst of all, we understand how we got here-which in part means learning about the past and examining media for messages about women-and then, by making different decisions.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淲e can begin by choosing media that supports female representation, choose the way we speak as women-for example, by being direct instead of indirect and not apologizing for being ourselves; realizing we have a right to be here, too.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淲e can also celebrate the leadership successes of other girls and women,鈥� she says, adding that a great place for girls to learn these life lessons is through participation in sports.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭he sports we play matter,鈥� says Martinson. 鈥淭hrough our participation in team sports, we learn a lot of lessons about leadership-such as the importance of having a coach, having the courage to try out, to聽 focus on our job and do it really, really well instead of spreading ourselves so thin and doing everyone else's job in addition to our own. Sports also teach the value of teamwork and celebrating each other's successes. These are all things that guys learn and they carry over to the world of work.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 Martinson-who is married 鈥渢o a great guy鈥�-says that tossing the proverbial tiara will make the lives of聽 both women and men -and their families-better.
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淭here are leadership opportunities throughout live for everyone,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hen girls are able to reach their full potential, it makes life better for everyone.鈥�
听听听听听听听听听听听 鈥淚 think that when women understand the power of fairytales and the power they have to change the narrative, they make better decisions for the future-and that's good news for everyone.鈥�
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