Edition 11 January - March 2018
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Edition 11 January – March 2018
Division for Gender Equality January – March 2018 Paris, France © UNESCO 2018 GEN/2018/GW/11 Gender Wire is an electronic newsletter informing the UNESCO Secretariat and UNESCO Member States of relevant facts and figures, events and news concerning the work of UNESCO for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Published online in May 2018 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 7, place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France
Table of Contents
Highlights
UNESCO’s
Gender
Did you know? Equality
Champion
Gender Wire’s Let’s
Selection mainstream
In the News
Highlights
International Day for Women and Girls in International Women’s Day Celebration at
Science: UNESCO:
(Paris, 09 February) (Paris, 07-09 March)
Reaching gender equality in STEM implies This year, for International Women’s Day, UNESCO
encouraging the participation of girls and women at all focused on “rural women and girls” as well as “women
levels of education, and providing equal opportunities in the media and ICT,” the priority and review themes
and conditions for scientists and engineers throughout of the 62nd Session of the Commission on the Status
their careers, including in computer sciences. One of of Women. From 7 to 9 March, UNESCO organized
the largest gaps is in one of the most high-demand a series of events at its Headquarters to reflect the
and well-paid careers: computer sciences. Originally progress made, to call for change and to celebrate the
pioneered by women, computer sciences has become acts of courage and determination by women who
a career path largely dominated by men. The lack of have played an extraordinary role in the history of
gender equality in this field is inextricably linked to their countries and communities.
gender stereotypes, as well as women’s more limited
participation and continuation in STEM studies and On Wednesday 7 March, UNESCO held two events
careers. at Headquarters in the framework of International
Women’s Day 2018: a book presentation and artistic
To celebrate the International Day of Women and performance event, entitled “Tribute to Women”
Girls in Science (11 February), UNESCO organized organized by Group III (GRULAC) and a film
a round table entitled “Closing the Gender Gap in screening of the documentary “Boko Haram: Journey
Computer Sciences” to discuss gender inequality in from Evil”, organized together by UNESCO and the
computer sciences as well as the different factors that U.S. Mission to UNESCO. At the “Tribute to Women”
may motivate more girls and women to engage actively event, ambassadors from GRULAC presented the
in this field. This was followed by a presentation on the book “Women of Latin America and the Caribbean”,
revised “Recommendation on Science and Scientific by introducing incredible stories of women leaders
Researchers” by UNESCO. and activists from their own country, followed by a
poetry reading with musical interpretation by the
ambassadors of Argentina, Costa Rica, Honduras,
Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Ms Saniye
Gülser Corat, UNESCO`s Director for Gender
Equality, recognized the significance of the event by
stating “When it comes to the public arena, women’s
visibility is scarce. Both history and contemporary
media perpetuate gender stereotypes and tend to
favour the images and the voices of men over that
of women in their respective fields of expertise. By
presenting 17 remarkable women from the Latin
America and the Caribbean, this event acknowledges
the visibility they deserve.”
© Shutterstock
4
Cultural Rights at the University of Copenhagen
and the Delegation of the Kingdom of Denmark to
UNESCO. In line with the spirit of the symposium
which was to explore the links between music
and science, the event started and ended with
performances by the artist Nukâka Coster-Waldau
and four musicians from Greenland and Denmark.
Consisting of two panel discussions, the first session
reflected on the importance of having women involved
in scientific endeavours and explored the challenges
Ms Saniye Gülser Corat during the “Tribute to Women” Event preventing women and girls to access, participate
In the afternoon, a film screening of “Boko in, and contribute to cultural life and science. The
Haram: Journey from Evil” took place at UNESCO second session focused on how fundamental the
Headquarters. Produced by Voice of America - the right to science and the right to culture are in human
documentary examines the underpinnings of Boko rights and the potential of blockchain to improve
Haram, an Islamic fundamentalist group notorious for the scientific potential and independence of women.
its brutal abduction and continued captivity of young
school girls, the Nigerian government’s response, and
the inspirational stories of three Nigerian women
risking their lives to resist the terrorists and bring
about change.
The film screening was followed by a debate
moderated by Chris Hegadorn, Chargé d’affaires
of the U.S. Mission to UNESCO, and with Beth
Mendelson, Senior Executive Producer of Voice of
America, Vivienne Walt, TIME Magazine foreign Nukâka Coster-Waldau (in yellow) and her group
correspondent, Jean Christophe Servant, contributor
to Le Monde Diplomatique and an expert on Boko At the same time, Campus UNESCO “Women –
Haram and Julie Vandal, reporter of RFI African Actors of Change”, an initiative that aims to engage
Department as panelists. When asked how the film can youth with experts for a better understanding of major
have an impact on women, Vivienne Walt responded contemporary issues, brought together more than
“[in this film] we see women taking responsibilities 300 students from all over France. Three speakers –
into their own hands. All three women in the film were Friederike Röder, manager of the non-governmental
not government officials, but they created a response organisation ONE in France, Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke,
themselves. I think that is a powerful message to founder and CEO of Women’s WorldWide Web (W4),
send, especially in Nigeria. There are responses where and Damiano Giampaoli, gender specialist in the
people can get involved and do have an impact.” Division for Gender Equality at UNESCO – were
invited to discuss what gender equality means, how to
confront gender stereotypes and the role of women in
political and social change.
From left to right, Mr Chris Hegadorn, Ms Beth Mendelson, Ms Julie
Vandal, Ms Vivienne Walt and Mr Jean-Christophe Servant
International Women’s Day, Thursday 8 March,
started off with the “Women in Culture and Science” Damiano Giampaoli at Campus UNESCO
Symposium, organized by UNESCO’s Chair on
5
These events were followed by the vernissage of the the Canadian Commission to UNESCO, the Cultural
2018 Exhibition for International Women’s Day, Diplomacy Platform of the European Union, Iceland,
organized by the Division for Gender Equality of Sweden, Fondation CHANEL and the French National
UNESCO, in collaboration with the Permanent Audiovisual Institute. UNESCO`s Director-General,
Delegations. Focusing on the theme of rural women, Ms Audrey Azoulay, in her opening remarks said
the exhibition featured a variety of different creative “Wikipedia is a participatory platform, which means
expressions from all over the world, emphasizing the each and every one of us can contribute to making it
role of artistic creativity as a means of empowerment more balanced and to changing attitudes. We realize
and a reflection of agency and leadership. the magnitude of the work that lies before us in order
to fully achieve equality between women and men.”
The exhibition was opened by the President of the
39th Session of the General Conference, H.E. Ms
Zohour Alaoui, who set the tone of the day by stating
that “women artists used their creativity as a tool to
empowerment and, by doing it, they created their own
space in the decision making process. UNESCO must
encourage this empowerment of women through
communication technologies; empowerment through
media and local radio; helping everyone to make a
more enlightened decision and reinforcing women’s
influence in the democratic process”.
Ms Audrey Azoulay speaking at the #Wiki4Women Event
On Friday 9 March, UNESCO, together with the
World Federation of Engineering Organisation
(WFEO) who were celebrating their 50th anniversary,
organised an event entitled “Women in Engineering
- Empowering Rural Women and Girls”. This
symposium examined the under-representation of
women in engineering, what engineering can do to
improve the lives of rural women and girls and share
successful case studies of women in engineering. This
From left to right, sister of Ms Ellen Vaibaih ZeZe, Ms Sandhya Mishra,
was followed by the launch of the 2018 GEM Report
Ms Anna Polikarpova, Mr Sidibé A. Musa, H.E. Ms Zohour Alaoui, Ms Gender Review by Priyadarshani Joshi, Researcher of
Jameelah Mater Asiri, Ms Ons Abid and Ms Saniye Gülser Corat UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report. At
the end of the Conference, Hema Vallahb, founder of
Part of the Exhibition was dedicated to the local radio in the WomEng, invited young school girls to join the
Africa and the experiences of women radio journalists Think Pink Hard Hat challenge, an exercise to try on
in rural areas. Built around audio, digital and artistic a Pink Hard Hat, imagine becoming an engineer and
installations, “On Air with Rural Women” aimed to consider studying and pursuing a career in STEM
show how the inclusion of women’s voices in local fields.
radio allowed for progress on gender issues, including
gender-based violence, female entrepreneurship, and
female genital mutilations, in several isolated African
communities.
The day culminated with the #WIKI4WOMEN
event which gathered activists, contributors,
UNESCO’s staff, members of Permanent Delegations,
representatives of civil society, students, and the
general public to actively increase the number of
Wikipedia profiles of women committed in the fields
of UNESCO’s mandate and help edit the gender gap
High-school Girls during the Think Pink Hard Hat Challenge
on the Internet. The event was organized by UNESCO
and the Wikimedia Foundation, with the support of
6
62nd Session of the Commission on the Status Education for Sustainable Development – A tool to
of Women: empower rural women and girls (13 March)
This parallel event organized by Dianova
(New York, 12-23 March)
International and partners aimed at emphasizing
the need to mainstream education for sustainable
development, including gender equality and human
rights, at all levels in the educational systems. The
UNESCO Liaison Office in New York introduced the
concept and history of ESD, and presented UNESCO’s
Global Action Programme (GAP) and ESD Learning
Objectives.
#WeWillNotBeSilent. Reflecting on the Role
of Online Communities in Tackling Sexual
Harassment (13 March)
Ms Saniye Gülser Corat, UNESCO’s Director for
Click on the image to access the online article
Gender Equality, participated in the event co-
The 62nd session of the Commission on the Status organized by the Finnish Ministry of Social Affairs and
of Women (CSW) took place at the United Nations Health, the National Institute for Health and Welfare
Headquarters in New York from 12 to 23 March. (Finland) and the Kenya Human Rights Commission
Representatives of Member States, UN entities, (KHRC). The event brought together representatives
and ECOSOC-accredited NGOs from all over the of the diplomatic community, UN entities and civil
world attended to discuss both the priority theme society to discuss the role of online communities in
“Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender tackling sexual harassment and hate speech. Ms Corat
equality and the empowerment of rural women and provided a global perspective to the issue of online
girls” and the review theme “Participation in and harassment.
access of women to the media, and information and
communications technologies and their impact on
and use as an instrument for the advancement and
empowerment of women.” UNESCO actively engaged
in CSW62 by participating in the official sessions as
well as organizing and participating in side events.
During the two weeks of CSW62, UNESCO co-
organized side events with Member States, other UN
agencies, private sector and civil society partners.
Ms Corat representing UNESCO with Ms Sonja Soronen (Na-
Below is a comprehensive list of UNESCO’s side events, tional Institute of Health and Welfare Finland) and Ms Diana
including links to their web stories (in chronological Gichengo (Kenya Human Rights Commission) © Tiina Neuvonen
order).
Cracking the code: Empowering rural girls and
Education for a Healthy Future (13 March) women through digital skills (14 March)
At this side event, UNESCO, UNFPA, and UN Women Co-organized by UNESCO and the German Ministry
jointly presented the revised UN Technical Guidance for Economic Cooperation and Development
on Sexuality Education, including the benefits of (BMZ), the side event drew on the findings of the
teaching comprehensive sexuality education (CSE), groundbreaking UNESCO’s Cracking the Code report.
the new recommended curriculum content, and how 500 participants explored the factors contributing to
it contributes to gender equality and a healthy future girls’ and women’s acquisition of digital skills, and
for all young people. The event featured a high-level highlighted good practices that empower rural girls
panel discussion to showcase country experiences and and women to be ICT users, creators and innovators.
global commitments, and an interactive classroom
activity that familiarized the audience with CSE.
7
Women Artists: Creative Energy For Peace Racing Towards Gender Equality: The media’s
(14 March) portrayal of women athletes and its effects on
The exhibition “Women Artists: Creative Energy for women’s participation in sports (15 March)
Peace” was launched at the UN Headquarters and The event co-organized by the International Olympic
displayed from 12 to 23 March 2018. UNESCO joined Committee, UNESCO, UN Women, NBC and Procter
the launch together with Ms. Hedva Ser, UNESCO & Gamble explored gender issues in the context of
Artist for Peace and Special Envoy for Cultural sports media. The event was attended by journalists,
Diplomacy. Ms Saniye Gülser Corat, UNESCO’s athletes, international organization and civil society
Director for Gender Equality, delivered remarks organizations. Ms Saniye Gülser Corat, UNESCO’s
and outlined UNESCO’s close collaboration with Director of the Division for Gender Equality, joined the
Art Camp Andorra and the Andorran National discussion and highlighted UNESCO’s interventions
Commission for UNESCO. to advance women’s agenda by supporting women
journalists and tackling negative gender stereotypes
in sports media.
Ms Saniye Gülser Corat and Ms Hedva Ser
The IOC, UN Women, UNESCO, P&G and NBC are changing the con-
versation about women in sport
Menstrual hygiene, painful menstruation and
endometriosis: a human rights issue and key
challenge for rural women and girls (14 March) Press Briefing by UNESCO on CSW and Media
The side-event organized by the Permanent Missions (20 March)
of France, India and Senegal, together with Info- On 20 March, Mr. Guy Berger, UNESCO’s Director
Endométriose, Femmes Solidaires and Le Planning of Freedom of Expression and Media Development,
Familial took stock of the situation of menstrual joined the noon briefing by the spokesperson for the
hygiene management all over the world and raised UN Secretary-General and discussed the CSW and its
awareness in the international community on its focus on media with UN-accredited journalists. Mr.
consequences on women and girls, especially in rural Berger presented two new publications by UNESCO:
areas. Ms Saniye Gülser Corat, UNESCO’s Director Terrorism and the media, a practical handbook
of the Division for Gender Equality, underscored the based on international experience; and Youth and
impact that lack of access to menstrual hygiene has on violent extremism on social media, which reviewed
education of women and girls, undermining their right more than 550 scientific articles on this subject.
to education. She further emphasized the importance
of education in providing information and knowledge Empowering Rural Women and Girls in Engineering
about menstruation in an age-appropriate, evidence- for Sustainable Development (21 March)
based and empowering manner. UNESCO, in collaboration with WomEng and WFEO,
brought together panelists to discuss ways to address
Core issues of the Women and Media agenda the issue of underrepresentation of women and gender
(14 March) bias stereotypes in engineering and other STEM
Organized by Mexico and GAMAG, this event fields. During the event, panelists shared their own
opened up a multistakeholder debate to recognize experiences of addressing this issue, and discussed
a set of guidelines that could serve as a catalyst for the importance of having more women engineers
coordinated international action around three of the in order to achieve sustainable development. Ms.
central issues of women and media agenda: violence Rovani Sigamoney, UNESCO’s Program Specialist
against women journalists, gender mainstreaming in of the SC Sector, highlighted UNESCO’s inititatives,
media and ICT policy, and violence against women in including the UNESCO-L’Oreal For Women in
media and digital contents. Ms Saniye Gülser Corat, Science program, and the #OneMillionGirlsinSTEM
UNESCO’s Director for Gender Equality, attended the campaign launched last year with WomEng.
event as a panelist.
8
Safe Journalists, Strong Democracies: How on and The Holistic Gender and Media Agenda: An analysis
offline attacks on women journalists are hurting us and key findings of the 2018 GAMAG Position
all (22 March) Papers (23 March)
Organized by UNESCO, this side event stressing The side event organized by UNESCO and GAMAG
the importance of the safety of women journalists with the support of the Netherlands showcased
was attended by journalists and media professionals, research carried out by GAMAG members, with
media students, civil society participants, and funding from UNESCO’s International Programme
representatives of international organizations. Mr. for the Development of Communication (IPDC).
Guy Berger, UNESCO’s Director of the Division for The position papers, to be published in a book
Freedom of Expression and Media Development, format later this year, focused on the review theme of
highlighted UNESCO’s work and contextualized the women’s participation in and access to the media and
discussion with data from UNESCO’s Report “World information and communications technologies.
Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media
Development”.
9
UNESCO’s
Gender Equality Champion
The Work of UNESCO`s Regional Office in Southern Africa
© UNESCO
For their work on the song Ngwazi Zazikazi and music video against gender stereotypes which won the
European Union Development Cooperation EUROPEAID Communication Award, the 11th edition of
UNESCO’s Gender Wire acknowledges the UNESCO Regional Office in Southern Africa as this edition’s
Gender Equality Champion.
As part of the 2017 International Women’s Day celebrations, the Skills and Technical Education Programme
(STEP) and the National Youth Council of Malawi (NYCOM) launched the song Ngwazi Zazikazi (woman
champion/hero) in Malawi, which was produced by UNESCO as a part of the European Union funded project.
Aimed at strengthening the technical, entrepreneurial and vocational education training system (TVET) in
Malawi, one of the components of STEP is to promote equitable and gender balance-access to TVET. The
goal of the music video is both to encourage women to undertake technical, entrepreneurial and vocational
trainings and render the sector more accessible to women.
Robert Chiwamba, a well-known award winning poet, and Sangie, an award-winning musical artist worked
together to compose the music video. Before contributing to this project, Chiwamba established himself as one
of the most unique poetic voices in Malawi and collaborated with many international organizations, including
UN Women. Sangie is also recognized in the music world for her songs about love and women’s empowerment,
the themes of which are found in her celebrated album Painless. Thanks to these two artists’ cooperation and
dedication, Ngwazi Zazikazi ranked number one for eight weeks in March and April of 2017 and ended up as
the number five song of the year in Malawi in 2017.
The award-winning music video breaks negative gender norms and stereotypes by portraying women in
traditionally male-dominated fields such as auto mechanics and bricklaying, thereby encouraging more young
women to enter technical training courses. Written in Chichewa, one of Malawi’s languages, the song has been
downloaded over 75,000 times.
10Let’s mainstream
UNESCO co-leading EQUALS Skills Coalition
to bridge the digital gender gap in skills
Women are heavily under-represented in the digital in their abilities, is lower than that of male peers.
world. 200 million fewer women than men own a These confidence gaps affect their choice of studies
mobile phone. 250 million fewer women than men and careers, and their ability to fully participate in the
use the internet. Only 10% of Silicon Valley tech digital world.
jobs are held by women and only 6% of application To ensure that women and girls are not excluded from
developers are women. These gaps are greater in the opportunities in learning digital skills and to increase
least developed countries, and within these countries, their confidence in their essential and equal role in
in rural, remote and underserved areas. digital knowledge societies, innovative, long-term
This gender gap is not accidental, and the reasons and holistic actions are needed. UNESCO, together
for it are manifold. Illiteracy is a significant obstacle with the German Federal Ministry of Economic
for girls’ and women’s digital skills development. Cooperation, is co-leading the EQUALS Skills
Two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are women. Coalition to empower women and girls to acquire
Bridging the digital divide will require equal access to skills and participate in the digital world as content
learning opportunities in school and through training producers, coders, creators, and professional users.
programmes, particularly the most vulnerable who With 15 partners from industry, intergovernmental
are easily left behind. bodies and civil society, the EQUALS Skills Coalition
UNESCO’s groundbreaking report Cracking the is aiming to deliver interventions which include
Code: Girls’ Education in Science, Technology, developing principles and guidelines for gender-
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), released last transformative skills training, expanding activities
year, found that from the early stages of life, social, around the successful International Girls in ICT Day
cultural and gender norms influence the way girls campaign, establishing a Digital Skills Grassroots
and boys are raised and their access to care, play Innovation Fund, and the setting up of a Virtual Skills
and learning opportunities, including those that School that will help girls and women who can’t attend
develop digital competencies. It also found that in onsite classes to access world-class, certified digital
settings where girls have opportunities to develop skills training.
computer and information literacy skills, and are even
outperforming boys, their self-efficacy, or their belief
11In the News
Official Launch of the GEM Report Gender Review
© Andres Pasco
In the framework of 2018 International Women’s Day, just and equitable world – the essence of sustainable
UNESCO hosted the official launch of the Global development – means ensuring that all men and
Education Monitoring (GEM) Report Gender women, all boys and girls, can lead empowered and
Review on March 9 at its Headquarters in Paris. dignified lives. Ensuring an inclusive and gender-
Ms Priyadarshani Joshi, UNESCO’s GEM Report equitable education of good quality is a key way to
Researcher, gave a brief presentation on the key achieve this goal”.
findings of the Gender Review which was followed The launch also took place in London and New York
by a panel discussion focusing on the need to hold on 8 March. In London, the event consisted of a
governments accountable for the lack of progress in presentation from the GEM Report authors, followed
gender equality in education through international by an interactive panel with representation from the
agreements. Malala Fund and the Right to Education Initiative. In
The GEM Report, launched last October, highlighted New York, the event gathered representatives from
the importance of the responsibility of governments different institutions including Mr Manos Antoninis,
to provide universal quality education and stressed Director of the GEM Report; Ms Marie-Paule Roudil
that accountability is indispensable in achieving the Director of the UNESCO New York Office; H.E. Mr.
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The Jean-Claude Félix do Rego, Permanent Representative
Gender Review of this GEM Report underscores that of Benin to the United Nations; Ms Becky Pringle,
education, and any target in the 2030 Agenda, cannot Vice-President of the National Education Association;
be reached without gender equality. It also examines Ms Karen Sherman, President of the Akilah Institute;
who is accountable for achieving gender equality in and Mr Barry Johnston, Associate Director of
education and how states can be held accountable if Advocacy from the Malala Fund.
they do not fulfil those responsibilities and respect
gender rights. Ms Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s ***
Director-General, said “creating a more inclusive,
12Her Headline
UNESCO with support from Cambridge University Media’s representation of women and men athletes
Press, has developed the first ever sports media- often perpetrate gender stereotypes and labels
focused gender equality Chrome extension called Her deeply rooted in our societies and in the collective
Headline. consciousness. Her Headline underlines the
gender-biased headlines on female athletes in order
Using a database of pre-determined words, Her to promote more a balanced and just coverage.
Headline scans sports articles and highlights gender-
biased words and phrases that are often used in
sports media coverage, and explain why they can Her Headline is a continuation of UNESCO’s
be sexist or problematic. The Chrome extension #HerMomentsMatter, a campaign promoting fairer
used a study analysis on more than 160 million coverage of women athletes launched last February on
words used in sports to expose the biased language the occasion of the World Radio Day. The campaign
in sports coverage of women. The study found out, revealed that women represent just 7% of sports
for example, that women get less airtime in sports people seen, heard or read about in the media, and
and sports coverage and up to 80% of gender words only 4% of sports stories focus primarily on women.
in sports coverage are male, although there has
been considerable improvement in recent years.
***
Chrome extension: HerHeadline
13Gender Wire Book’s Selection
Gender Wire’s Selection
Movie Selection
The Breadwinner
The Breadwinner is a 2017 animated drama directed by Nora Twomey. The
film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and
received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 90th Academy Awards.
The Breadwinner is about Parvana, an 11-year-old girl who lives under Taliban
rule in Afghanistan in 2001. After the wrongful arrest of her father, Parvana cuts
off her hair and dresses like a boy to sell items in the local market and support her
family. Working alongside a friend, she soon discovers a new world of freedom
and danger. Drawing strength from the extravagant stories she invents, Parvana
embarks on an epic quest to save her father and reunite her family.
Lady Bird
Lady Bird is a 2017 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Greta
Gerwig. Set in Sacramento, California in 2002, Lady Bird is a coming-of-age
story of a high-school senior and her volatile relationship with her mother. Lady
Bird won the award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 75th
Golden Globe Awards. For her work on Lady Bird, Gerwig also received two
Academy Award nominations, for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay,
making her the fifth woman in history to be nominated in the Best Director
category at the Oscars.
A Fantastic Woman
Chilean actress Daniela Vega truly shines in her role as Maina in Sebastian
Lelio’s A Fantastic Woman. The film follows Marina, a transwoman mourning
the death of her older lover in Santiago. Her former lover’s ex-wife and children,
who are out to persecute her, complicate her feelings of grief. The film lays bare
the stigmas faced by Chile’s trans community, but stills manages to be joyous,
thanks largely to the boundless protagonist, who never ceases to entertain the
audience whether its by stomping on car roofs or busting moves on the dance
floor. A Fantastic Woman won the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the
90th Academy Awards.
14Gender Wire Book’s Selection
Did you know?
Rosie, the Riveter
original caption. The challenge for Dr. Kimble was to
find the original photograph and caption identifying
the woman in the picture. After scavenging through
books, archives, and old newspaper clippings, he
eventually found the original photograph dated May
24, 1942 with the caption “Pretty Naomi Parker looks
like she might catch her nose in the turret lathe she
is operating.” It became indisputable that Ms. Fraley
was therefore the women in the photo and the likely
inspiration behind Rosie the Riveter.
Ms. Fraley, who died on January 20th, 2018 in
Longview, Washington, was proud to be properly
identified as the feminist icon stating in a People
magazine interview, “The women of this country
these days need some icons, if they think I’m one, I’m
happy.”
Fraley with the Rosie the Riveter poster
Misidentified for more than 70 years, the real Rosie
the Riveter was a California waitress named Naomi
Parker Fraley. The famous wartime poster of the
worker posed with her polka-dot bandanna under
the slogan “We can do it!” was mistakenly thought to
be Geraldine Doyle, who in 1942 worked briefly as a
metal presser in a Michigan plant.
Troubled by the media’s unquestionable reiteration of
this claim, Dr. James J. Kimble, Associate Professor of
Communication and the Arts at Seton Hall University
in New Jersey, began his five-year long quest for the
real Rosie. His research ultimately led him to Mrs.
Fraley, who worked in a Navy machine shop during
World War II.
The key piece of evidence linking Ms. Fraley to Rosie
the Riveter was a picture featuring a female worker in a
polka-dot bandanna at an industrial lathe. Acme Photo
Agency distributed the photo, which was reprinted in Copy of the original photo of Ms. Fraley that was distributed by Acme
papers all over the United States – often without the Photo Agency
15You can also read
