Catherine Mayer Quotes
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The system isn't working for most people and never has worked for most women.
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As a young woman working in journalism, I assumed harassment and discrimination came with the territory and that you just had to get on with the job. As I rose to senior positions, it took me awhile to realise that just because I'd survived relatively unscathed didn't mean the younger women joining the profession would do so, and it isn't until you hit a certain age that the reality of ageism - which is much more acute for women - kicks in.
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Studies show that women seeking power tend to be punished for doing so, because it goes against cultural bias. Women are expected to be likeable and pliant. We are also trained to expect any success we attain to come to us through men - by pleasing men, as good employees, good partners.
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It's not enough to vent about what you don't like on social media. I would ask everyone who can, men included, to get involved in an organisation actively working for gender equality.
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We are all impacted by the failings of a news media that almost always chooses which stories to cover according to the priorities and perspectives of white men with private educations.
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Our male-dominated culture tends to define success in terms of wealth, fame, power, the reaction of others. Women are fed a version that includes personal fulfilment through marriage and motherhood in addition to professional acclaim and of course we must look sexy but not too sexy and then graciously disappear when we hit middle age.
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Writing a book is like running a marathon. You need to be fit to do it, mentally and, as far as possible, physically.
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I've taken a certain a pride in all of my books. They devour so much time and energy that you have to engage deeply or you'd go mad.
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I wish I knew how to sleep late! I generally wake horribly early, often with a head full of thoughts and deadlines that propel me to my computer.
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Take on jobs, projects and challenges that frighten you. It's the best way to get rid of fear.
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One of the reasons I'm able to write books and still carry on with other work is that I do my best writing between 5am and midday.
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It is, after all, absurd that in 2017 women are still at best second-class citizens.
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What drives me is a sense of urgency. We live in frightening times. Progress towards gender equality and vital battles to end discrimination on grounds such as race, age, sexuality and disability are stalling and in some places, reversing. This is happening because of the collapse of trust in nearly all public institutions, and in particular in politics and media, and the inescapable feeling that the current system isn't working for most people.
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Iceland's Women's Day Off in 1975 saw 90% of Icelandic women take time off from their paid and unpaid work, an experience that not only showed women how much they contribute but turned Icelandic men into supporters of gender equality. I aim to achieve the same impact in the UK.
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