As part of its “Equality Week” event on September 20, 21, and 22, Sorbonne University collaborated with the collective take action for equality.
Raising Awareness Among Everyone
The goal of the “Equality Week” was to address gender inequality through the lens of gender stereotypes, by challenging, questioning, and encouraging reflection from everyone in the university community, whether already aware of these issues or not.
The challenge of the installation designed by take action for equality on the Jussieu campus was to bring these inequalities to light through experience.
The Equality Maze: A Unique Experience
To meet this goal, take action for equality designed a custom, one-of-a-kind installation: the Equality Maze.
A 111m² maze that took participants through various spheres of socialization: family, media, school, university, the professional world.
At the maze’s entrance, Article 1 of the Declaration of Human Rights was displayed: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
An asterisk invited visitors to look closer, where they would discover that, in 2021… this is still not the case. The tone was set: it was up to them to venture inside the maze to learn more.
At the exit, participants were invited to take time to reflect on the paths they had followed and share their thoughts. Boards were available for those who wanted to contribute their own stories or complete the installation with personal experiences.
One board focused on those phrases we wish had never been said or heard. Another encouraged participants to suggest concrete actions to implement.
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Understanding the Impact of Our Social Constructs
“The brain at birth is only about 10% formed. The variability between individuals of the same sex is equal to or greater than the variability between sexes.”Catherine Vidal - Brain, Sex and Power,
The rest is shaped by our external environment and how we are raised. We go through various spheres of socialization: family, school, media, public space, etc. These environments, filled with gender stereotypes, create social roles that influence our relationships and decisions.
So-called “gender-specific” skills seen in women or men are nothing more than the results of education and the brain’s plasticity, shaped by our surroundings.
For example, men are not biologically more inclined toward science, and women toward literature. The gender imbalance in these fields is a social construct.
Three Days, 500 People Engaged, 73 Quotes Collected, 86 Action Ideas Proposed
Over the course of three days, we had the opportunity to talk with a wide range of university members: students, staff, faculty, researchers, PhD candidates, and more.
The maze worked as intended: most visitors stayed with us for 5 to 30 minutes afterwards to discuss, understand, and share their experiences.
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We collected 73 quotes, hurtful words that people wish they had never heard or spoken. Here are a few examples:
- “Don’t go out like that, you’ll get raped!”
- “We’re NOT asking your brother to help with the dishes. You’re a woman, that’s your role!”
- “You got a good grade? You must’ve blown the teacher yesterday!” (Said to a 9th grader)
- “I think you’re really smart.” “Why?” “Because you think like a man, not like a woman.”
- “She works too much for a mom.”
- “Don’t do that, that’s for women and fags.”
- “We don’t do math the African way here.”
- “Your dress makes you look like a slut.”
Other contributions on the board included:
- “Women aren’t genetically made for physics and math.”
- “Why do you want to keep studying? You’ll just end up married and a housewife.”
And Then—Action Proposals. Because Every Small Step Matters.
Participants also shared 86 action ideas, such as:
- “It all starts when we’re young. Let’s be more mindful, at home, at school, in extracurriculars, of what we show children.”
- “Highlight more important women from history.”
- “In high school… fewer talks about drug prevention, more about equality!”
- “Give the mic to those directly concerned. Respect lived experience.”
- “Stop sexualizing female video game avatars.”
- “Ban porn films where women are objectified and men are portrayed as dominant.”
- “Attend physics and math oral exams and observe the different behaviors toward male, female, and non-binary candidates.”
- “Provide free menstrual hygiene products. Distribute washable pads, a more sustainable alternative to disposables.”
- “Introduce gender-neutral bathrooms (at least individual stalls).”
- “Challenge norms around masculinity and virility.”
Additional Activities Across Campuses
In parallel, the event included evening conferences, documentary screenings during lunch, forum theatre in lecture halls, performances by actors from the Théâtre de la Ville de Paris, and other activities on university campuses that reimagined the maze theme through interactive formats, organized by the association TRACES.
take action for equality: Blending Gender, Design, and Education
The collective take action for equality was born from a desire to address gender inequality in higher education in a new way.
We chose to raise awareness differently, by combining our expertise in gender and design to develop customized installations.
To us, “raising awareness differently” means recognizing that traditional approaches mostly reach those who are already convinced. Our choice is to create sensitive, unique experiences that engage as many people as possible.
Following this first experiment with the Equality Maze, take action for equality is ready to replicate the initiative in other universities, and even private or public companies.
Because we believe education is the most powerful tool to change society, and that we must do it together.
Co-designed by: Alice Pouillevet, Aude Omerin, Mathieu Geiler
