Stand up if you

Becki Patterson
Wednesday, January 14, 2004

With hands akimbo, provoked and ready for any reaction - namely a physical tangle - the headline above used to be one schoolgirl's challenge to another.

The aggressor's posturing and attitude was usually enough to dissuade further friction, usually, but not always. There were occasions when the challenge was accepted and a battle fought. But for the most part, the aggressor was so convinced that just the outward display of confidence was enough to secure some respect that it did not matter from there if she could really hold her own in hand-to-hand combat or not. She won.

Ironically, a lick at school, a thump at home and the forced absorption of some amount of social grace led to this way of settling matters to be distilled out of girls. In most, however, the aggressive tendencies were just laid to rest or made to find more acceptable manifestations rather than actually die off. Through the years the girls most prone to this type of behaviour went on to get themselves in real, lifelong trouble or became leaders and forces of power in their career fields.

Leadership qualities in West Indian women are an innate trait we all grew up with. The same mothers and aunties who run the yard after you with a long handle cast-iron pot-spoon in hand for kicking the boy who lives in the corner house down the road (while defending yourself from his attack) is the same woman who runs the show at home, if not alone, assuming primary responsibility for everything - except for making the man still sleep out.

The situation has only got "worse" as women seek to meet and exceed the requirements of having control and winning: just over 50 per cent of the work force is made up of women in managerial and professional positions; for supervisory and clerical positions that percentage is greater (actual figure could not be found); the earnings gap between men and women is closing as they prove their worth by hard work and sound decisions, a record 75 per cent of UWI graduates last year were women and, to top it off, technology is helping more of them to find a better balance between raising their children and still working at all levels in the economy.

All well and good for the sex, but there remains one so far unresolved matter: the move from backseat leadership to an unabashed and assertive "I'm your leader" position; the move from co-pilot to captain; the move from executing orders to giving them. Until otherwise different, this kind of leadership is political with social and economic ramifications which, when done right, is the kind that truly makes a difference for everyone.

The major issues of being a woman in a man's world have been resolved - just look at fashion to understand that. No longer are they compelled to wear manly-looking suits to do business in. Today, a woman can interview for a CEO position in a pink skirt suit and make-up and get the job - on merit of a performance track record. So now it is about the finer matters - self-confidence and support by other women and men, minus those who are prone to Neanderthal behaviour for being led by a woman.

Maybe some of the "licks" for fighting for their beliefs got through, some of the pot-spoons, frying pans and broomsticks made a connection that went from flesh to subconscious, putting restraints on the push for power. Female aggression toward power and authority is, however, the earned right and capacity to lead. Only the women who hold public office need to project it.

Between the two major political parties there is anywhere between 15 to 30 per cent female presence. Separate and apart from low representation, it seems like they are just there following and fuelling the status quo. What good are they to the rest of us struggling with child care, single parenting, sexual harassment, domestic abuse, discrimination, healthcare matters, employment and education, if they are towing the line or afraid to step up and step out?

Truth is, the climate is so set right now - with women carrying the burdens of the nation and men seeing the failure of their sex to improve conditions - that any present female politician or one to come to the front quickly, can gain the power of office needed to make some real changes on such a ticket.

Championing women's issues, being the embodiment of the Caribbean woman - traditional (mother and wife) or modern (career-driven), working with the people, raising funds, being honest, forthright and real, pacing the competition (if any), speaking out to be heard and seen - is the winning campaign to run, and now is the time to lay the foundation, cultivate the buzz, build the momentum, now is the time to stan' up if yuh name 'oman!