New Beginnings

I was going to open with a summary of 2020. Perhaps 2020 was the year none of us had anticipated. But we all know, we lived it, its effects are ingrained in our bodies and minds. So I’ll skip the recap.

Women On Top started life as a podcast. I didn’t really have an agenda for it, but the funny thing is when you start something you either nurture it and keep going, or you stop. And we’ve kept going. Over eighteen months, the podcast has given a platform to women’s voices on business, work and money; conversations where the voices of authority have been traditionally reserved for men. I’m incredibly proud of the conversations we’ve sparked and the perspectives we’ve given space to.

Last year it became clear to me that there was a gap in the media landscape for a feminist perspective on our core topics: business, work and money. To really examine what decisions are being made that affect women’s progress toward economic equality, both here in the UK and around the world. To profile the businesses and leaders that are creating positive change, and to investigate those that are exploiting people and the planet. This swiftly became our mission.

At the same time, feminism itself was also called into debate, particularly the intersection of feminism and capitalism. We ran the series How Instagram Fostered Recession-Ready Scams Dressed as Female Empowerment, which examined a melting pot of feminist messaging, slick branding, capitalism and manipulative sales techniques. I witnessed this perfect storm brew online over the past few years, and Covid-19 was the ultimate catalyst for the bubble to burst.

The criticism that we received on Twitter called into question mine and the team’s call to publish the piece. One tweet reads, ”I think it’s a dangerous precedent for a supposedly feminist org like WOT to focus heavily on tearing down the woman in the scenario”, this is later followed up with, “it's just tearing down a successful woman who made one mistake with no heat or focus on the man. Typical, toxic behaviour”.

I spent a lot of time thinking about this, society’s interpretation of feminism and what it means to describe yourself as feminist. I unequivocally disagree with the points being made, in my mind it is anti-feminist to give women a free pass for behaviour that causes harm. It is also incredibly dangerous to label accountability as “tearing women down”.

I also believe that, whilst the message is well intended, the online business communities that promote #WomenSupportingWomen and similar hashtags can be extremely pernicious. They foster cultures where women can be afraid to speak up against other women, even if they are being manipulated or exploited. Fear of being left out of the community has echoes to the school playground. Cliques (communities) and popular kids (influencers) make the rules, and those who don’t conform are isolated. There will always be those who use these “safe” spaces as a means to their own gain, using unearned trust as a vehicle to sell and further their own agendas. I’ve seen this play out time and time again.

I have to evaluate what our role has and will be on the feminist debate. And whilst I am incredibly proud of our content, it is our name that causes a conflict for me. Women On Top suggests that we prioritise gender above all else, and that is not the case. Our entire raison d’être is centred in ethics, equality and positive change. It calls us all to look inwards, become more conscious of how we contribute to society and take better care of ourselves, but not at the expense of others. Feminism is messy work, it’s complicated. And its intersection with business and working life is even more so. And it certainly doesn’t fit into 280 characters, an aesthetically pleasing square or conform to an algorithm.

All this to say; we’re changing our name. Whilst Women On Top was a fun, tongue-in-cheek name for a podcast, without context it can be interpreted as antagonistic or divisive. We believe in equality, not one gender above another. We believe in collaboration, nuance and exploring grey-areas, not extremes, segregation and alienation. We believe that echo-chambers are dangerous, and we don’t wish to become one. We are a feminist organisation because we believe reverently that gender should not contribute to social, political and economic inequality. Our content fosters ideas, shares perspectives, and sparks conversation toward that mission.

So, after much reflection, this begins our transition to ‘Raise The Bar’. Stick with us because the best is yet to come.

Frankie X