“We are really struck when we discover the cards”: the fresco of equity, an original workshop for gender equality in Montpellier

Les premières cartes disposées. Midi Libre – L. D.

A fun and practical training to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of inequalities between men and women in everyday life.

We all have an opinion on the issue, but when confronted with real and verified facts, everyone – from the self-confessed macho to the convinced feminist – could be surprised.

Gender equality is a subject as vast as it is fascinating since many underlying mechanisms arise from it without necessarily being identified at first glance.

In order to set the context and facts relating to this issue and to be able to assess the extent of its repercussions in everyday life, a surprising and fun workshop was created. Entitled the fresco of equity – in reference to the climate fresco – it allows us to perceive gender inequalities differently but concretely and above all to glimpse that solutions are possible to change society.

From maps to striking truths

This three-hour awareness workshop is done in small groups made up of men and women. And it is now available in Montpellier and the surrounding area. One of the first took place a few days ago with Laurie Albano at the helm.

Each participant arrives with their own perspective, beliefs and perceptions, without suspecting the hard-hitting realities they will be confronted with during this collaborative session.

Because the perspective that each person has, whether they are a man or a woman, the beliefs that we are all imbued with, these intimate perceptions do not necessarily correspond to the reality of this famous equality or inequality.

That day, the group of volunteers consisted of about ten people with only one man. Some came “out of curiosity”, like Mathieu and Samantha, others to try to “find levers for action”, like Laurence and Mélanie.

The framework is set from the start. Illustrated cards with various themes (finances, career, health, parenting, cognitive biases, etc.) will be distributed and shared between the participants.

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On each of them, striking examples – obvious to some or until now invisible “as long as we don't have the truth before our eyes”.

A few concrete examples

Without revealing the content of this somewhat special course, here are a few concrete examples.

– &Due to inequalities in the management and prognosis of a heart attack, the probability of death for a woman under 50 is 38% higher than for a man.

– 25% : Five years after a birth, women's wage income is 25% lower than it would have been without children. The wage situation of fathers remains virtually unchanged.

– 7 out of 10 fathers take leave paternity, so 3 out of 10 do not take it.

– 80% of women report having already been victims of sexual harassment in public places.

– One in 4 men under the age of 35 believe that it is sometimes necessary to be violent to gain respect.

Not to mention the yogurt pot theory, the pink tax, the time spent to household chores, women's self-censorship, the metaphor of the glass ceiling…

Each piece of information is verified, identified and sourced. No activism, just facts to define the reality we are all confronted with and steeped in and its repercussions in everyday life.​

Everyone can intervene by giving a personal example or a very specific comment on the subject. Little by little, cards are added. It is the participants' turn to gather them together to form a tree structure.

Each card can be nested with another. Midi Libre – L. D.

Once this work is completed, the result is clear: “It is by making the connection between them that we understand that everything is intertwined”, the group notes.

With a hopeful conclusion: “If we remove one card, the others will also be impacted… each small progress therefore moves the lines and causes a real change.”

To pick at

Some sites resources

Several sites or social media accounts are worth a look: Paye ta charge mentale, Pépites sexistes, Parental challenge, or even Sorority, the mutual aid application in the event of street harassment.

Solutions

Among the solutions that already exist, we can cite the Stand-up training against street harassment to learn in a few minutes how to react with the 5D method, the proposed law on menstrual health, Sista for more equality in access to financing for women in Tech, the Parity Pact, a collective movement in favor of parity in start-ups or the establishment of the Professional Equality Index.

More information on the fresco website. Tel. 06 85 65 93 59.