Whenever people say that we're living in a post-feminist society, I like to quote some basic facts for them. And now, thanks to Elle UK, I have a new tool in my arsenal: the #MoreWomen campaign video, which shows just how few women there really are at the top of the power chain. Women earning 79 percent of what men make (as long as both of them are white) doesn't get you? Black women earning 63 percent and Hispanic women earning 56 percent of what that same white dude makes doesn't do it for you? What about women holding only 5.2 percent of Fortune 500 CEO roles? Still not hitting you? What about the fact that one in four women will experience sexual assault in college? No? Fine, then. Let's Photoshop out all the men seated at some of the most important and powerful "tables" in the world and see how many people we have left sitting. Maybe that will drive the point home.
Why is this exercise in Photoshopping so notable? Because the answer to the question "Who's left when we get rid of the men?" is an incredibly small handful of women — frequently just one or two. Every. Single. Time. I also want to point out that, in addition to the shockingly low number of women, there is an even lower number of women of color throughout these images. The world is certainly not comprised solely of white dudes, and yet they seem to be the ones making a whole lot of big decisions.
Here's the thing: Power should not be gendered. Power should not have a color. As we can see from this video, there is a lot of room at these big, powerful, decision-making tables for some diversity every now and again.
Take a look at a few of the "before" and "after" images here, and scroll down to watch the full video.
1. The UN
Emma, girl, we feel you. Last year, the UN made headlines when six women made it onto the Security Council, long considered the organization's most powerful and male-dominated body. Six whole women, all at one time, comprising a whole third of humans making decisions that affect the entire world.
2. SNL
Remember when SNL didn't hire a black woman for seven years, and it got to the point where literally any time they wanted to do a sketch featuring a black woman, Kenan Thompson had to cross-dress? Remember that? Seems like Lena does ...
3. The UK House of Commons
The House of Commons basically keeps the Prime Minister in check. So yeah, they're a little important. There are 650 seats in the House. Women make up 191 of them.
Check out the full video below:
Images: ElleUKTV/YouTube (3)
