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All about Australian Women
All about Australian Women
Where are all the women in art, technology and tuk tuk driving? Right here, in this week’s edition of World Wide Women.
1. Women in Art
An art audit concluded this week by the East London Fawcett Group (ELF) revealed that only 5% of London galleries represent an equal number of male and female artists. Furthermore, not a single female artist made it to the list of the top 100 auction sales ranked by price in London 2012. These stats led groups such as the ELF to question the discrepancy in gender representation in art, especially when over 61% of students studying art in London are female. Gemma Rolls-Bentley began the ELF in October 2011 to collect these statistics and get to the bottom of gender discrimination in the art world. Check out their work so far and read more about female representation in London galleries.
2. Sticks and Stones
Emily Bazelon spoke to the Guardian this week about her best selling book Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy. If you are yet to hear about Bazelon, prepare to be impressed. Not only has she authored a best selling book about dealing with bullying, she is also a graduate and teacher at Yale Law School, a contributing writer for the New York Times and the senior editor of Slate. Read her interview with the Guardian here to get more info on her work and life, then check out her website to see what she plans to do next.
3. Driving towards Equality
In a country like Australia it can be hard to imagine the kind of barriers some women face when sitting behind the wheel of a car. However, women in India face such challenges, and many more, on a daily basis. In their series entitled India’s Trailblazers, the BBC have tracked down a number of women breaking down these barriers in order to seek employment to support themselves and their families. Watch a fantastic two minute profile of a female tuk tuk driver in Mumbai, or an interview with a female bouncer working in one of the city’s many clubs to be truly inspired by the myriad of cultural issues these women have braved in order to be independent and employed. Want more information on women’s working lives in India? Check out this fantastic article highlighting a few more of the difficulties women are overcoming in the Indian workplace.
4. Loans for the Ladies
In 2009 Tonisha Tagoe founded an independent production company called U Media. Despite struggling with funds, Tagoe’s business grew and this year her hard work has been rewarded with a loan from the UK’s Government Start-Up Scheme. The loan scheme aims to fund over 30,000 start-ups by 2015, and currently lends £1 million each month to entrepreneurs under the age of 30. As if that isn’t impressive enough, stats also show that 40% of the loans thus far have been granted to women! With 35% of the UK’s new businesses being founded by women this is something to celebrate. Check out details of the loan’s success here and if you’re curious about what kind of support the Australian government gives young entrepreneurs have a read of business.gov.au.
5. Viral Videos get Unruly
Advertising is a hard gig, and in the world of social networking, grumpy cats and Youtube it can be difficult to get exposure for your product. So how do companies like Sony, Coca Cola and even Old Spice get their adverts to go viral? They go to Unruly Media! Co-founded by Sarah Wood in 2006, Unruly has delivered, tracked and audited 1.65 billion video campaigns for over 400 companies in 7 years. As a graduate of Cambridge specialising in American literature, Wood is a perfect example of how any woman, no matter her background, can start a business in tech. She shared some of her key business tips with the Next Women.
