The Power of Purple - #WomenEd Unconference 2023

This past weekend I flew to London for the #WomenEd Unconference 2023.

My boss joked with me about being one of the rich elite jetting off to England for the weekend. I certainly feel rich after a weekend of empowerment and sisterhood. The overall theme for the weekend was DISRUPT and we certainly live in a world where there needs to be some good trouble and some good disruption.

I had a chance to speak briefly at the opening and it wasn't lost on me that in Canada it was National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and that I was standing on the land of the colonizer. I said as much to the group. You see the system (male, white, straight, Conservative and Christian) doesn't want anyone else having rights. Oh, they say they do, but then their ilk form protests and convoys because all of a sudden, they feel oppressed and persecuted. They figure they are getting less because others are getting even a small taste of the pie.

As women we are in the margins. Black and brown women further out of the margins. Muslim women further still. Add other protected characteristics – differently abled, lesbian, bi, trans – the system doesn't want to see us, never mind hear us. 

So, we gather on a Saturday and cheer and bolster each other on. 

The system is stacked against us by the nature of our biology. Periods, pregnancy, menopause, parenthood. 

These are things not discussed at other conferences. These are things that get women talking and the things that need talking about. Even though admittedly, it took some adjustment on my part to see this.

We disrupt the system by waking up in the morning. 

Seriously. 

The system doesn't pay us what we are worth, doesn't want to give us the healthcare we require, in fact wants to determine laws over our bodies. 

We make things difficult by getting up, getting dressed and getting going.

Disruption doesn't have to be loud, although it can be. Certainly the convoys and marches against women's rights, 2SLGBTQIA+ are loud, sadly misinformed, but loud. Challenging language in the workplace, talking about articles you have read on Twitter, talking about what you heard at the unconference are all ways to disrupt.

Women of privilege – we have a duty. 

Even though our voices might shake and our tummies twist at the thought, we have to speak up. I try to use my privilege because I have so much to learn. I engage because I still struggle with old ideas. Racism comes from hate or ignorance. I still grapple with ignorance.

I spoke to three lovely women in my session about my own journey and how I try to silence the voices in the cheap seats. I work on chipping away my armour and shame daily. I suggest the following:

1. Live with integrity by claiming your identity
2. Accept you who are – strengths and blind spots
3. Build a network, flock, gaggle, cohort, crowd that support you and keep you honest (I don't use tribe as this is a word most affiliated with Indigenous people in Canada)
4. Take inventory and find the ammunition others are dying to use against you: use it first. Tell your story, each time you do the shame that comes with it diminishes.
5. Be Who You Are – shamelessly, authentically – whoever you are in this moment is who you are supposed to be. Live visibly.

If you are reading this, connect. 

I am on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Follow #WomenEd on Twitter and LinkedIn.

If you are reading this and were at the 2023 #WomenEd Unconference, what was your pledge? What do you need to make the pledge a reality? If you haven't yet made a pledge. what will your pledge be?

What will you disrupt today?

Thanks for reading!

Lisa H