Early March marks a global event – International Women’s Day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world. Attached is a call to action for accelerating women’s equality across a wide range of sectors from politics, sports to business. We’d like to to celebrate this day by encouraging everyone to send a recorded message to a woman that inspires you today: your mother, your boss or neighbour.
Blast from the past
If you’re searching for inspiring voices from women of past times, then look no further than the British Library of Sounds. The vast array for topics is a joy for any fan as you can listen to early spoken word recordings by Elizabeth Barret Browning or Charlotte Bronte or pioneering women – a section not to be missed with recordings from the Suffragettes or other women that changed the course of politics.
Image by Library of Congress via Unsplash
One of the more recent aural discoveries has been the only sound recording of Frida Kahlo which the National Sound Library of Mexico has made available. For more contemporary voices of women, do not miss the BBC’s programme Woman’s Hour: a daily dose that offers a female perspective on the world.
Image via Unsplash
It’s not you, it’s Alexa
Plenty of great initiatives are looking at increasing the presence of women in various professional fields, often led by looking to grow the number of women in STEM. Another area that still sees slow progress is voice recognition with notable gender bias in Google’s voice recognition capabilities.
Image by Christina Wocin via Unsplash
With her book Invisible Women the author Caroline Criado-Perez exposes the gender data gap that has created a pervasive bias with a profound effect on women’s lives. From government policy and medical research to technology, her research reveals the biased data that excludes women in everyday life. Another recent and inspiring publication looks at how women are transforming tech and why a group photo of women doesn’t cut it anymore on International Women’s Day today.
Record a message, create memories
While looking at great names from Marie Curie to Virgina Woolf we won’t want to forget the inspiring women that we’re surrounded by day to day. For this reason, we encourage you to not only listen closely to females around you, but more so to record these voices. Preserve the stories of your grandmother, the sound of your growing toddler daughter, or your mother.
Image by Eberhard Grossgasteiger via Unsplash
Moreover, why not send these women around you a recorded message to tell them what they mean to you. Instead of sending a card, you save paper and create your own eco-friendly card by sending a recording that can be accessed from any device.
Feeling inspired? Then why not start recording now by downloading Aroundsound for Android and iOS now. Never miss an inspiring talk, a conversation with a female friend or mentor. Let us know which women inspired you today or on Internationals Women’s Day.
Photo credit Bruce Mars @Unsplash
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