Images

Under the influence of their environment people receive pictures through which certain images are created. These pictures are picked up via amongst other things education, school, religion and the media. Images of men and women often do not reflect equality. Women and women's activities are often considered inferior to men and men's activities. On a decision making level women are often treated as unequal interlocutors. Women are more frequently than men depicted and looked at in a sexist manner. Traffic in women increasingly takes place.

Women are sold as if they were merchandise and are consequently used and abused. Keeping the house (which still belongs to the domain of women) is considered of little importance and occupational groups in which many women are represented (nursing, child care etc.) are paid less in relation to similar occupational groups in which many men are represented. People still create standard images which affect both women and men. Through various channels (amongst which the media) everybody continues to hear and see that women are ultimately responsible for keeping the house and taking care of the children whether or not they earn wages. Moreover, they have to be beautiful, sensitive and a good wife.

Men for their part are responsible for the family income, a full-time job and making a career.

The image created of allochtonous women in the Netherlands and of women in the South is also biased. People in the Netherlands often asssume that any other culture is more oppressive towards women than their own culture, that things look worse for women in the South than for women in the North and that they have less authority than women living in the Western world.

Women in Gelderland believe that government policy must be aimed at breaking through standard images of women and men. In addition, measures should be taken to encourage equality between men and women.

Women in Gelderland suggest the following measures to break through standard images:

• stimulating the process of raising consciousness of producers and consumers to the presence of standard images in the media. Stereotyping often occurs unconsciously;
• putting a stop to negative and biased images in the media through the introduction of a commission which calls the media to account and enters into conversation with them;
• making strict regulations for publicity (and sanctioning people in case of an offense) or even abolishing publicity. This because standard images are frequently present in publicity;
• encouraging more women to become journalists;
• stimulating the process of situating bottle-necks which women are confronted with in a social context instead of directly linking them to biological aspects;
• depicting women more often in traditional male professions (among which technical professions) and depicting men more frequently in so-called female professions (among which child care);
• supporting financially cultural projects of women aimed at breaking social conventions.

Standard images are unconciously transmitted to children in all sorts of ways. Therefore, it is important to pay special attention to this in schools. That is why women in Gelderland propose the following measures:

• stimulating the development and the use of unconventional and transcultural teaching materials;
• taking the level of emancipation at schools as a quality criterion. This is a task of the educational inspection;
• working on creating awareness of teachers so they treat and encourage boys and girls equally;
• paying attention to aspects of emancipation during the training of teachers;
• promoting emancipatory guidance when pupils are choosing subjects;
• giving the care taking course the same status as other courses (in terms of finances as well as appreciation);
• promoting the presence of more women in management positions in educational institutions. This sets an example to the pupils;
• showing more often (and more positively) the multi-coloured society;
• creating greater access of women to information in respect to information technological developments such as the electronic highway;
• promoting a greater representation of women in public relations and information transfer (among other things in the media and in the government).

• encouraging the participation of women in high positions in organizations which operate in the field of mass communication;
• increasing the number of women who are members of the radio and television advertising authority.

• enabling men to assume equal responsibility for taking care of children and keeping the house;
• making a clear stand against and fighting against traffic in women;
• treating men and women equally regarding identity papers by the authorities. The passport of women still contains 'wife of', such is not the case for men;
• working at the creation of more positive images and reassessing care taking courses and professions.