Rethinking Gender — A Poem
I refuse to lean in
Or fake it with a power pose
I won’t shout to be heard
Or perform for the crowd
I refuse to smile away tasteless humor
Or listen to ugly office rumors
I won’t stop wearing pink
Or put my feet in heels
Simply to be seen
I refuse to decorate expert panels
Or symbolize work-life ‘balance’
I won’t champion a busine$$ case
For the chance to lead
I need rights to succeed —
Equality, not economics
So don’t appease me with quick fixes
Or win-win scenarios
Pretty gestures that conceal injustice
March by my side to enforce equal pay
Take on our fight to legislate family leave
Blaze a trail to reward care work
Value collaboration as much as competition
And compromise as much as victory
Wake up to unconscious bias
Because real change is uncomfortable
Sometimes even painful.
