Penn Women SPEAK talks competition among women

Twenty people gathered at the Penn Women’s Center on Tuesday to discuss why women feel compelled to compete with each other. 

The event was held by Penn Women SPEAK, an organization that aims to increase dialogue about gender inequality. College sophomores Sylvia Guan and former Daily Pennsylvanian video producer Claire Huang founded the Penn chapter of the group last semester after watching “Half the Sky,” a documentary chronicling the oppression women face across the globe.

The group discussed how fewer opportunities for women incites greater competition and a tendency for women to tear each other down. “The problem is that there aren’t as many positions for successful women,” Guan said. “There’s only room for one female rapper,” Huang added. The solution they discussed is the Shine Theory, which says that women become better by surrounding themselves with and supporting other successful women.

“We thought, why aren’t we doing something more? So, we looked up on Google how we could help,” Huang said. They founded the Penn chapter of Women SPEAK, a national organization aimed at opening a dialogue about the struggles women face.

Both genders are encouraged to attend and participate in discussions, regardless of their level of knowledge or awareness. 

For example, both agreed that awareness of language is critical regardless of gender. “Just today, a guy casually used the word ‘slut’ in conversation, and I think we need more education and awareness about why that’s not okay,” Huang said. “Also, the feminist movement shouldn’t be minimized so quickly. Men have privileges they often aren’t aware of, like walking home alone late at night or the language they can use," Guan added.

Penn Women SPEAK has had three discussions so far and is planning more for the next semester. Another topic this semester was why women apologize so often. “Women feel the need to justify themselves when they are in a position of power, which changes their language a lot,” Huang said.

Events are planned by the group’s board of eight directors, and the discussion is then crafted by the director of dialogue. Guan added that the national organization Women SPEAK has been supportive of the chapter and has referred other developing chapters for advice about Penn's questions. Penn Women SPEAK wants to eventually hold its own summit involving guest speakers and extensive discussion.

The organization is looking to cover the problem of body image in February. The group also intends to engage some of the nuances of feminism in greater depth, such as the impact of race and socioeconomic status on the movement.

Guan added that she hoped Penn could be more "transparent and active" with furthering feminism on campus. 

"I never really found out what they did in response to the campus climate report to change the way women are viewed or treated,” she said.   

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