International Women's Day 2020 - IWD Musings by Katrina Marshall

You’d think that being both a woman and a writer, submitting a guest blog on International Women’s Day would have been a breeze. Not so. Those two signifiers are not enough to spark a river of inspiring or thought-provoking prose loosely based on Generation Equality and Realizing Women’s Rights. Yet the image that bubbled to the surface of my mind at the first mention of the word ‘generation’ was my niece KristiAnna.

As a woman who has never carried a child to term it is a happy coincidence that I’m adopted aunty and official godmother to – at last count – 6 “children” ranging from the tattooed 18 year old to the sassy 4 year old. KristiAnna is somewhere in the middle. At 12 she is precocious, curious, well read and hungry for success. All things that, in time, a world still viewed through a patriarchical gaze will somehow frame as negative. Or will it?

As I contemplate my role in her life and the lives of the other little ladies that call me Aunty Kat, I think more of what they will take for granted as their ‘rights’ as they grow up, vs. what I was taught I was entitled to by virtue of my existence when I was a little girl.

Kaitlyn, my sassy four year old goddaughter has both her father’s defiance and her mother’s confidence; traits I believe will serve her in good stead. I think of the way she protests at my video call when I’m “interrupting YouTube” as she watches Peppa Pig on her mother’s smart phone. I can scarcely imagine her “hiding her light under a bushell” so to speak, waiting for someone to call her to the head of the class; while boys are treated as the default leaders. Knowing Kaity she’ll probably corral her classmates in order of height awaiting the teacher’s next instruction! So in a way I believe the world is changing in Kaity’s and Kristianna’s favour and there are certain spaces they will feel entitled to occupy without permission or apology.

This is a good thing. Yet I worry for them as my contemporaries and I must also face the reality that the beast that is gender inequality no longer has easily recognizable or obviously grotesque features. It is now less so the crude slur on a locker or the vulgar catcalls in the street and moreso a snide, sinister and most worryingly, institutional thing. It is the appearance of merit-based hiring in the printed job description, yet in reality the accepted catchment is from predominantly legacy schools and colleges where traditions are passed down from father to son. It is the need for women like Samira Ahmed to take on the British Broadcasting Corporation in court – and win – over her male counterpart making tens of thousands of dollars more than she is for doing precisely the same job. It is knowing that Samira is among the rare type of woman with the connections and the means to do so in the first place. It is the acceptance that for every Samira, there are hundreds of thousands of Kaitlyns and KristiAnnas who, despite their hard work and tenacity, will end up taking insulting pittances to settle gender pay gap disputes to “keep them quiet” because the societal, professional and psychological toll to fight to the bitter end is too ruinous to continue with.

In writing this piece, I squirmed under the editorial guideline which stated simply: I am generation equality. But am I? I’ll say this. I feel fortunate to have learned the merits of the way I tried (and often failed) at winning at a man’s game. Cutting my teeth as a cub reporter in a newsroom of men who were everything from crass scoundrels to consummate gentlemen, I often joke to my friends that things I should be offended by simply pass me by. As the only (young, loud, opinionated) woman in that newsroom, I hadn’t the luxury of running to Human Resources whenever I was shooed out of the room and told that “big men were talking”. I’ve been around long enough to know that realising women’s rights is as much psychological as it is legislative and institutional warfare – far more intricate tasks than the protests in the streets and the viral hashtags that are, in fairness, also effective.

I’m glad I’ve paid attention to how my friends have parented their children for a world that includes and explores issues of consent, good touching vs. bad touching, normalizing the full spectrum of gender identification, compassion, using your words vs. your fists and embracing difference. I’m honoured to be part of the village that is helping to raise them. But mostly I see myself as having one foot in each camp – a flawed but instructive past and a complex but improved future. It is Kaity and KristiAnna that help me find the balance. I’m reminded that one of the great thinkers of our time warned that progress is not linear. And that while some areas see encouraging gains, others simultaneously slip back into the worst excesses of a trend or way of thinking. To realise women’s rights I believe we need to celebrate the gains and keep a watchful eye on that which threatens to slip backwards. Waiting for the arrival of triumphant gender equality nirvana is a fool’s errand.

With nearly 20 years’ experience in journalism and communications, Katrina Marshall is a seasoned Barbadian journalist who cut her teeth in radio and television before moving onto corporate communications and feature writing.

As a television presenter for Barbados’ Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation and as a news anchor for regional news network the Caribbean Media Corporation, Katrina has handled developing and break news items, interviewed industry leaders and heads of state with a sense of occasion, grit and a touch of wit.

As a corporate communications and public relations professional her hallmarks are discretion, attention to detail and fastidious dedication to preparation and research. Most recently her career has seen her focus on writing long form features and op eds focusing on social justice and diversity and inclusion in the UK, where she has made her home.

Katrina is well travelled and well read, with both professional pursuits and personal curiosity taking her to Spain, Budapest, Cyprus and across the United States.

As a producer she has covered festivals, high level meetings of CARICOM Heads of Government, state funerals, general elections and environmental crises, to name a few.

This natural born communicator retains and holds others to solid traditional news values and keeps a constant “fire in the belly” for solid storytelling no matter the medium.

Her current pursuits see her move seamlessly between the UK’s communications and public relations industry and strict journalism and feature writing.

Katrina is most comfortable both in front of and behind the microphone but can often be found whipping up a sumptuous curry for friends, where the rum and laughter flow freely.

Follow Katrina on twitter @kat_ish for more musings and reflections on social issues, culture and food!