The equal society 2017
From Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies’ Members Report Places to go, March 2007
In 2017, our prevailing understanding “man” and “woman” is about to change radically. Instead of role division and “them and us,” the point of departure will be how best to get the most out of every individual – no matter if that means Venus is the boss while Mars is a part-time secretary or staying at home with the children.
In 2017, we do not speak of creating balance and equality between the genders. Gender equality until 2007 was based on “them and us,” and we are well on the way to putting this gender dichotomy behind us. Instead of seeing gender first and the person second, in 2017, we focus more on personal qualification. The gender battle is dying out, and the individual has a better chance to assume the role he or she feels most comfortable in, rather than trying to live up to obsolete and restrictive gender stereotypes. Now the point of departure is figuring out how we can supplement each other as equal individuals and partners.
In this society, there is no gender-specific role division, other than purely natural conditions such as pregnancy. Fathers take paternity leave just as often as women take maternity leave, and so gain insight into their “softer” abilities – insights they increasingly use outside the four walls of the home. This is where some of the first steps toward the equal society will be taken.
The challenge in this society is the continued skill in new thinking and self-recognition, since we no longer can rely on the old roles. For some groups, such as the older generation, it has been harder to give up the notion of gender-based role assignment. But most agree we are far better off without socially imposed norms that we must fit into. In 2017, we are well on the way to creating and living in a society where we are all “just” people who seek to create new patterns and meaning on the coals of the old gender role values – a new paradigm with its roots in individual competencies is about to bloom.
The new role models
Karen-Marie Lillelund is a formidable lecturer and businessperson, among much else. She has an idea about how we are moving toward this society. She believes one way to become better at seeing the person before the gender is by observing people who have chosen an alternative approach to corporate management or labor division in the home. We must learn from the “odd” individuals who, instead of leaning on traditional gender-based norms, organize their lives according to their own needs and competencies. To break the old gender roles, we must think “out of the box” and act in accordance with our own skills and needs.
Lillelund points to Helle Thorning-Schmidt, leader of the Danish Social Democrats political party, as one of many role models who can pave the way for the new paradigm. Helle Thorning-Schmidt is a prominent woman who has earned disparaging labels such as “Gucci Helle” because she insists on maintaining her feminine style while expecting to be taken seriously. According to Lillelund, it is especially the women, but also men, who insist on doing things differently and breaking with the conventions who will change the gender picture of the future.
Lillelund believe that even though the feminist movement in Denmark won some decisive battles for gender equality, the movement bears a somewhat angry and confrontational label. That label must be shed by women if they are to move toward the equal society. It is a development that Lillelund believes is already under way. Today, women practice a milder expression, and the focus is no longer on the gender fight, but on making room and, to a greater degree, benefiting from female and personal competencies.
But at the same time, Lillelund points out it is important to be aware that the way toward the equal society is paved with real equality, where no visible or invisible difference between the genders exist in income or positions. Therefore, to a great degree, we need male and female role models who can show us other ways of doing things, and who insist on being credited equally because of it.
Serious humor
Karen-Marie Lillelund believes, however, that the equality process cannot stand or fall with role models alone. We must also, for example, have corporate leaders and the unions along as relevant societal actors. By consciously creating a collectively spacious platform based on open dialogue, leaders can lay the first paving stones to this society. They can help make a difference, since they stand behind hiring, promotions and salary negotiations.
“It is important with a positive dialogue, if our goal is to change the prevailing conditions and create a more spacious society. We are on our way to a society of surplus, and so it is important that we take our surplus, not our bitterness, in hand when we try to create common conditions for all,” says Lillelund.
Humor is one tool for achieving this dialogue, says Lillelund. Humor ensures a spacious communication form that is different from the prevailing business jargon by not focusing on the financial bottom line. Good humor in the workplace is not based on gender, but is a way for people to play ball. It thereby releases creativity and makes room for different and new thoughts. Through humor, we prompt dialogue based on friendliness. Here individuals build a collective basis without disruptive status symbols and gender polarization as distancing elements.
Humor can be a collective communication platform where the genders can cooperate equally.
“Many women are so pressured by constantly having to show they are entitled to good pay and a top position that they lose their surplus of humor. So it is important that workplaces put humor on the agenda and, through concrete actions, show that it is OK to laugh with each other – even if you are an ambitious woman,” says Lillelund.
She believes that by taking humor seriously, companies also get better employees who are creative and who dare to achieve. And by opening up for creativity, we can change the traditional allocation of tasks in which men sit at the top and women in middle management or the HR department – because men can also be “soft” and women can certainly make money!
The joint platform in 2017
Karen-Marie Lillelund’s 2017 offers many new possibilities for both men and women. Our attitude to the individual’s possibilities will not depend on whether the person wears high heels or a tie to the degree it does today. Instead, we focus more on the personal abilities and resources that every individual possesses. The strong role models who form themselves on the basis of untraditional and creative norms, have expanded our horizons with new ways to live and be together, while the societal engagement in creating a collective discussion platform based on humor has contributed to breaking down the prejudices about gender stereotypes. In 2017, we have a far better basis than today for meeting each other as equals and, yes, as people.
“But a complete change in attitude is not a realistic goal within the next ten years – it is something that must be implemented from early childhood. But the sooner we start changing these attitudes, the sooner we will achieve a society where both men and women can to a great degree use their abilities without being limited by obsolete traditions,” concludes Lillelund.