Women shaping the future today
“And this momentum is desperately needed, as emphasised by Nora Wilhelm, activist and co-founder of the initiative collaboratio helvetica: «Many people in Switzerland don't realise how much we are lagging behind compared with other countries.» A UNICEF study, for example, ranked Switzerland at the bottom of the list of European countries when it came to compatibility of family and work. «That's shocking and shows how much education is still needed.» Young women in particular are often the subject of ridicule and have to achieve more to be taken seriously, says Nora. But the 27-year-old doesn't let that daunt her. With her team at collaboratio helvetica, she is persistent in examining how we, the Swiss population, can contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nora is a typical social entrepreneur (see information box) and appeared on the Forbes «30 Under 30» list of Swiss personalities last year.”
“In Nora's view, the biggest problem when it comes to equality is a «conglomerate of factors», which highlights a systemic problem but affects everyone. «We have internalised ideas about gender, structures, hierarchies and stereotypes, and changing those ideas will require a huge effort from each and every person.» She thinks it right and important that an effort has been made over recent centuries to fight specifically for women. However, now she believes that we need to broaden our horizons, as there are more issues connected with inequality, such as racism, sexual orientation and income inequality. At the same time, she calls for society to move away from black and white thinking and, for example, to consider that there are more gender stereotypes than just woman and man. «We need to break away from this 50:50 mindset,» says the activist. «There are more complex ways of life. We need to acknowledge this plurality and diversity and speak up for it, so that everyone can live their lives the way they want.»”
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