Amy Lockwood is a mentee in this year’s Women in PR mentoring programme. She wrote this blog to share her personal experience and insights from working at Change.org during the pandemic.
Jacinda Ardern’s landslide victory last month, securing her second term as New Zealand’s Prime Minister, has been credited to her coronavirus leadership. Indeed, there has been commentary throughout the COVID-19 pandemic that countries with women leaders have had the best coronavirus response.
I’m not surprised.
At Change.org, the world’s largest petition platform, we analysed 46,000 petitions last year to understand what makes a successful campaign. We found that although men start more petitions on Change.org, women are the most successful campaigners, especially those under 35. We checked the numbers again for this year: still true.
It’s not a coincidence for me that the most successful campaigners on Change.org are women, and the most successful leaders in the pandemic have arguably been women too. Women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic, especially BAME women.
I’ve seen time and time again during the pandemic that women are spotting the issues that the Government (predominantly run by men) is missing. These women have started petitions to highlight problems and share their ideas for solutions. Take Emma and Holly – their campaigns to allow birth partners to attend scans and labour have sparked a national debate, with their #ButNotMaternity campaign highlighting how it’s easier to go to IKEA with your partner than your baby scan. Their campaign has been backed by over 60 MPs and has regularly featured in women’s titles like Grazia.
Collette has been campaigning to rescue the hair and beauty industry after salons were one of the final settings to re-open, despite the industry being one of the biggest employers and GDP contributors in the UK. There’s been commentary about how the easing of lockdown restrictions has – consciously or not – benefited men first. Again, not a surprise to me in a Government making decisions that’s dominated by men.
What does this mean for us, as women PR professionals? I’ve noticed some consistent attributes that women campaigners and world leaders demonstrate, which we can bring into our own work too, or just celebrate in ourselves.
Personal experience
Women are more likely to spot gaps in the Government’s plans, as we’re more likely to be juggling childcare with work and other responsibilities, caring for relatives or neighbours or holding down multiple jobs. Personal experience is crucial when campaigning – not only does it make us more likely to spot problems, but also gives us the opportunity to suggest solutions that would work for us.
Storytelling
Women are natural storytellers. Just like having personal experience of a problem, being able to tell our stories in a way that shows empathy, offers vulnerability and asks for help is a gift. In a world that’s increasingly data-driven, it’s easy to lose sight of the importance of the stories behind the numbers. We don’t make decisions because % of people think something or X fact says it’s right, whether or not we want to admit it we make decisions when we feel something. Those feelings come from stories.
Connection
One of the most important ways women build their power is collectively. We’re used to doors being closed to us, especially so if you have less privilege from your background or skin colour, as people in power want to keep a tight control. That means we’re creatively persistent – working outside traditional power structures to make change happen through connecting with others to make our voices louder. That makes women excellent campaigners.
These behaviours and approaches are all socialised into women. I’ve gone back and forth as to whether that’s a good thing. Does it make me a bad feminist to campaign using the perceived “feminine” qualities of women or perceive that in other women? But on the contrary, is it doing feminism badly to try and fit myself into a more “male” set of behaviours to be successful?
That’s why I’m also part of the Women in PR mentor scheme this year, to explore what it means to be a woman in communications and campaigns and how to authentically be myself.
I belive these behaviours and approaches can be a superpower – it’s worked for Jacinda Ardern, and thousands of petition organisers who are using Change.org to make change happen during the pandemic.
