The UK ambassador, Faye O’Connor points out that to achieve gender equality there is still a lot to be done at a personal and institutional level. Talking about inequality is talking about “prosperity, opportunity and security”, he indicated and explained that with figures: globally, women do the same work as men for 84% of the salarysince the salary gap is 16%, and that is one of the challenges that women face today.
O’Connor participated in the cycle 5 questions to 5 women of The Observer for this month of women and gave her vision on the challenges that women still face and the achievements already achieved. Look at the video:
1. What do you think are the main expressions of inequality experienced by women today?
When we talk about inequality we talk about prosperity, opportunity and security. For example, when it comes to prosperity, UN Women says that the global wage gap remains at 16%, which means that women do exactly the same work as men for 84% of the salary. Speaking of safety, a UK survey showed that 50% of women feel unsafe walking down the street when it is dark and when compared to men the figure drops to 15 or 20% depending on the circumstances. For me too that is a pretty big gap that affects the lives of all women.
2. How can people and organizations contribute to change?
Well, there is a lot that we can do at a personal and institutional level, but for me a very good summary is the strategy of the United Kingdom that was launched on International Women’s Day, which talks about five principles: supporting the rights of women and girls ; invest in women and girls at different stages of their lives; give access to employment and economic empowerment of women; provide support for women and girls in crisis situations; and strengthen political and economic systems that support women.
3. What challenges do women aspiring to leadership positions continue to face?
The biggest challenge remains that of stereotyping the role of women, be it in the workplace or at home. That greatly affects the aspirations of women. All of us saw during the pandemic that despite being in leadership positions outside the home, the majority of women still continued to take on most of the tasks inside the home.
4. What were the most challenging challenges in your career?
In my career, those stereotypes have also affected me. For example, that there is a ‘correct’ way to work in the position of a British ambassador or diplomat. As many can see I am not a typical British diplomat: a man of a certain age, very logical, with very little passion. For many years I saw that as a weakness, until I realized that it is not a weakness but rather a strength. Really one of my strengths is that I bring a different perspective and passion to my work.
5. What would you highlight as the main achievements of the women’s movement in recent years?
Well, it has been quite difficult, but I think we have achieved a lot. I can talk about access to leadership positions for women, in the political sector for example or in the economic sector. For example, today we have many more women ministers, many more women ambassadors, and many more women on executive boards. For example, in the United Kingdom we have just achieved that 40% of the positions in executive boards of companies are filled by women. We had the goal of reaching that number in 2025 and we have already achieved it. It is one of the very few times that I can say that we have achieved an objective before our goal.
