Last month, a new comedic crime series was released on BBC here in the UK, entitled Ludwig. Newspaper articles are positive about the plot and […]
Last month saw the unveiling of the fourth plinth, the public art commission ‘Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant)’ by Mexican artist Teresa Margolles. The fourth plinth which began in 1994 sees a leading artist make a public sculpture, held in the space for two years. Since its inception in 1994, there have been 15 different sculptures occupying the plinth, which has opened up a conversation with Britain’s past, present and future histories. Made for public consumption it is a key platform for showcasing and celebrating the importance of art in advocating key debates of our time and showing us new ways of seeing.
The new work unveiled on the 18th of September 2024 by Margolles has been no different. It sees a large sculpture of 726 cast faces of trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people. The label on the plinth itself, recalls the murder of Karla a transgender woman found dead in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and states that the work is made in honour of Karla and the other trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people, who have faced violence and abuse on the grounds of their identity. The sculpture is defined as being collectively made in London, Ciudad Juárez, and Mexico City between 2021 – 2024.
This is a striking piece of work, which stands at 2.5m tall and weighs 3.3 tonnes. Once scanning the QR Code the visitor can find out more information about the piece and how it was created. You learn that each sitter was asked to choose a piece of music or to make a playlist that they could listen to, whilst sitting through the plaster cast process. The whole appointment with each sitter, the artist and the artists assistant, took between 1–1.5hrs and of that, 30 minutes were used for the casting. With such a time encompassing and laboursome piece, what we are witness to, is the sensitive and vulnerable display of faces that are then placed on X shaped fixers, which we are told have been inspired by the form of a ‘Tzompantli’, an Aztec skull rack. We are left with the inside of the casts facing us, as the front of the faces are up against a metal frame, which cannot not be seen.
Written by Dr Ope Lori, PhD
To read the full article, you must be a PILAA Member.
Last month saw the unveiling of the fourth plinth, the public art commission ‘Mil Veces un Instante (A Thousand Times in an Instant)’ by Mexican […]
Black History Month – All of October is Black History Month in the UK. In 1926, a man named Carter G. Woodson launched a Black […]
We are delighted that PILAA has won the award, Best EDI Specialist Professional Services Consultancy 2024, in SME News seventh annual UK Enterprise Awards.
This is a fantastic achievement, that would not be possible without the strong commitment and work ethic from our team, who continuously strive to always do better in the world of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
We would like to thank our clients and partners, where without them this work, recognition and mutual learning would not be possible.
We congratulate everyone who have made it possible, and we look forward to many more success stories as we move through the years.
Stay tuned for more exciting news to come!
Dr. Ope Lori, Founder & CEO
Mawlid, 15th-16th On 15-16 September this year, Muslims celebrate the birth of their prophet Muhammed. The date changes in Western calendars each year, because this […]
Last month we saw the landmark ruling in favour of more than 3,500 employees, who had taken their employer Next, the multinational clothing, footwear and home products retailer, to an employment tribunal, over a six-year battle for equal pay. The case found that staff who worked in the stores, predominantly women, were paid less than warehouse operatives, who were predominantly men. The argument made by the employer, was that the women were paid less in accordance with the ‘market rate’, where warehouse workers are paid more than retail workers, to reflect the labour market.
Next employee Helen Scarsbrook told the press:
“Anyone who works in retail knows that it is a physically and emotionally tough job.”
“We do lots of heavy lifting, the same as the men do in the warehouse. We lift the same boxes they lift.” (1)
And here in lies part of the rub. The image of either men or women working in the warehouse or in the stores respectively, is part of an age-old problem that highlights the difference between stereotypical assumptions on gender roles and the actual lived reality, which we’ll come back to later. It is also a matter of perception, and how we have been conditioned to see such roles and give value to them, based on inherent gender norms. However, the ruling panel stated that this was not the case, and that the difference of pay allocation was purely financial. They said that “direct discrimination” in relation to gender was not at play, and that “there was no conscious or sub-conscious gender influence in the way Next set pay rates” (2). Despite this ruling, in this article we suggest otherwise.
What we are seeing are the effects of social conditioning, and how we have been conditioned to see sex, gender and associated gender roles. They are so engrained that that they become the norm. As the employer stated, this is the first ruling of its kind, which doesn’t mean that it wasn’t an issue before, but that this is the first time that a microscope has been held up to the situation. As we know with the way microscopes work, sometimes you have to adjust the wheel to position the lens and bring into focus what was hidden before.
It’s about choosing to see things differently, hence why the tribunal also stated that the employer hadn’t given enough evidence to show that the lower pay discrepancy, wasn’t due to gender-based discrimination. It was inconclusive. No evidence to prove it and similarly, non to disprove it. I say choose to see things differently, because in order to address the constant battle of awarding equal pay to women and men, we need to actively engage and reflect on our decision-making processes. This is at the heart of mitigating unconscious bias. In fact, we suggest that because gender bias is so engrained in the way that women are seen as the lesser sex, it becomes unthinkable, that such a case could be directly related to gender discrimination.
Written by Dr Ope Lori, PhD
To read the full article, you must be a PILAA Member.
Last month we saw the landmark ruling in favour of more than 3,500 employees, who had taken their employer Next, the multinational clothing, footwear and […]
International Day of Friendship – 30th “I like friends who have independent minds because they tend to make you see problems from all angles.” – […]
Many people in the UK and elsewhere in the world will have heard the sad news about Dr Michael Mosley’s unfortunate untimely death last month at only 67 years old. For those who aren’t familiar with him, he was a medical doctor who became a high-profile broadcaster and author, educating large audiences and inspiring people to try to live better.
While Mosley left behind many legacies, one that is particularly useful for the workplace is his concept of “one thing”. The idea behind one thing is simple: rather than people and organisations thinking they have to make huge changes in their lives all at once, they should focus on one achievable goal at a time. If you try to change too many things at one time or to make overarching adjustments to many aspects of your life, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and incapable. No one can start a daily meditation practice, while also training for a triathlon and changing their diet and taking up a new hobby. But doing one of those things at a time, while still challenging, is more possible. Trying to do too much at once and finding that they can’t do it leads to people feeling like they can’t make any changes whatsoever so then they give up on the idea of improving their lives. Instead, you should focus on something small and manageable. When you succeed with that one task or goal, you’ll feel empowered and then you’ll be able to make another change. And so on: it will snowball and before you know it, you will have made a whole swathe of changes, just as you wanted to, but it will have been easier to make happen than attempting to do it all together.
Mosley recommended a lot of things people could try, and his suggestions were always supported by research and were evidence-based. Examples range from volunteering to balancing on one leg, from weight-lifting to cooking tomatoes. As Mosley pointed out in his One Thing show, volunteering decreases your cholesterol and improves your mental health, while balancing on one leg strengthens your core and challenges you mentally and physically, and lifting weights and doing resistance training decreases your blood sugar and reduces your risk of chronic conditions, which in turn helps you live longer. And if you’re wondering why the tomatoes have to be cooked, it’s because it’s known that tomatoes have more nutritional benefits, especially lycopene, when cooked than when raw, plus then you have a broader range of recipes you can use them in, but of course tomatoes are good for you when raw too, so eat them however you like them.
Plenty of these ideas can be applied to the workplace too. If you’re a manager, you could come up with some small but significant changes to implement at work.
Written by B.J Woodstein, PhD
To read the full article, you must be a PILAA Member.