International Women’s Day

March 8th 2024

International Women’s Day...

This year, the International Women's Day theme is 'progress' and at King’s we decided to look at progress made by women in the past, present and future.

On Monday, 6 members of our EDI Committee Izzy, Fred, Holly, Aurelien, Gracie and Abi spoke eloquently about how women have made progress in sport, notably cricket, and in Hollywood, but emphasised that there still needs to be progress made in other areas. This was then backed up in Tutor time on Wednesday, when a member of the EDI Committee, Head of House or School Prefect visited a Tutor group and led a discussion on how women have progressed in the past, present and hopefully will in the future. These pupils were very impressive leading excellent conversations and they all certainly seemed to enjoy their 20 minutes of being a teacher!

The Sixth Form also had a talk on Monday afternoon about menopause and fertility, which was certainly thought provoking and pupils commented on the following:

Henry ‘The talk on Monday was very enlightening and relevant to all. We learnt key factors and effects of menopause and fertility, as well as how to deal with those situations best. As boys, it was helpful learning the situations that women go through, and I’m sure it will make everyone more considerate in the future when these situations occur. The talk was clear and precise, with helpful and important explanations about the topics which was a lesson to all and appreciated by everyone.’

Alex ‘The talk helped me understand what I will have to face in the future and what important women like my mum are currently facing. The talk was insightful for everyone in the room, very interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed it.’

The speeches from Monday's Assembly:

Izzy - International Women's Day

International Women’s Day is taking place this year on the 8^th of March. It is an opportunity to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about discrimination and take action to drive gender equality. It has been celebrated for well over a century, with the first International Women’s Day gathering taking place in 1911 which was supported by over a million people. This year, at King’s, the EDI Committee has decided that we will firstly be focusing on the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women in the past and in the present. However, while thankfully progress has been made to forge women’s equality, there is still a great deal to achieve on many fronts. Therefore, we will also be trying to identify and focusing on areas in which women still face discrimination or in which greater gender equality is still necessary.

Fred - International Women's Day

Today I would like to talk to you about women’s cricket. Some may say the women’s cricket is relatively new, but it has actually been played by women since 1754. However, it has recently boomed in popularity due to events like the 2023 women’s ashes, which took place in England and peaked at over one million viewers on Sky Sport. This shows how women’s cricket is becoming ever more popular. Women who play cricket for England are also being paid the same match fees as men which is another important step towards equality in the sport. While there is lots of good news about women’s cricket there are still some areas which need to be worked on, such as a lack of sponsorships for women in cricket, and that there is a lack of support for women to even begin playing cricket. While we are lucky in this school to have a girls cricket team many schools across the country still don’t have easy access to cricket for young women. This would be a big step in improving equality in cricket but it is important to remind ourselves how far this sport has come.

Holly - International Women’s Day

Despite the 50 year long ban on women’s football only being lifted by the FA in 1971, records are constantly being broken by the women’s game all over the world. The Women’s Super League became fully professional in 2018, allowing the development of players, teams and role models from grassroots levels up to the elite. With the Lionesses facilitating a government grant of over £600 million towards more gender equality in school sport and PE, after their historic win at the 2022 euros. However, their success has been wrongfully overshadowed by the recent likes of people such as Joey Barton. Some of his misogynistic comments include: claiming that female footballers aren’t qualified to talk about the men’s game as well as calling Alex Scott the ‘Ted Bundy’ of presenting and Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward the ‘Fred and Rose West’ of football commentating. Unfortunately, this shows that there will continue to be a prejudice against women in sport.

Aurelien - How Has The Role Of Women In Film Evolved

Did you know that of the 13,253 nominees at the Academy Awards since 1929, 17% were women and 83% were men? However, despite this we have seen huge improvements in the role of women in the film industry on camera and behind the camera. Commonly, women in film are either over sexualised like Naomi from Wolf of Wall Street or they are just there to be the hero’s damsel. However, there have been more complex portrayals of women which broke the stereotype such as Eowyne from Lord of the Rings who delivers the one liner “I am no man” before killing the Witch King of Angmar. The actor with the most academy awards for best performance is Daniel Day-Lewis with 3, however, the actress with the most academy awards for best actress is Katherine Hepburn with 4, meaning that the person with the most academy awards for best acting is not held by a man but by a woman.

Gracie - The Barbie Movie

Barbie the movie has influenced many by its impactful representation of Barbie being everything a woman can be through the act of feminism. Barbie has changed the viewpoints of many as they are now understanding a woman’s struggle in society. Also, with Ryan Gosling being nominated for an Oscar from this movie shocked many people as neither Margo (the main character) nor Greta (the director) were nominated for an Oscar. Ryan says, “there is no Ken without Barbie and no Barbie World without Greta Gerwig and Margo Robbie”. Barbie has helped, and is going to help, many young girls and people understand what it is truly like being a woman in today's society and how to overcome this to make society equal.

Abi - International Women's Day

International Women’s Day is not just a date on the calendar; it’s a day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. International Women’s Day has occurred for well over a century, with the first gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, International Women’s Day belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. It is not country, group or organization specific. But as we use this week to celebrate the immense progress that has already been made, we must also recognise the challenges that persist. Gender inequality and discrimination continues to affect women and girls all around the world in various forms such as unequal pay, and limited access to education. To celebrate, our school will have a special church service followed by Tutor time where a member of the EDI Committee, a Head of House or a Prefect will come in and lead the discussion on women’s progress in the past, present and future to the 3^rd & 4^th Form pastoral tutor groups and joint 5^th and 6^th Form House Tutor groups.

Emily Simper - Deputy Head, Pastoral