- a seminar about gender equality

Is it true that men are trained to take and to take charge, and women are trained to give and to give in? Is it possible to find a balance between family life and professional life, and is this something both men and women desire? By shedding light on gender equality we also open up for a discussion on equality from a wider perspective.

The dramatic part of this seminar takes place in a company where the associates are ambitious and driven. We follow two sales representatives, a male and a female, both struggling to find the balance between family and professional life. As the labour burden escalates they become increasingly dependent on their closest people to help them with household and children. The company manager has chosen work before family life and finds it difficult to empathise with his employees. Working towards equality seems pointless to him, so he passes on the responsibility to the company’s educationalist and hopes it will all just fizzle out. The employees of the company, as well as the audience, face a series of questions;

· Is it possible to combine family life with professional life?
· Is equal work rewarded with equal pay?
· Can we accept each other’s differences regarding ethnicity, religion, functional disorders and differences in sexual orientation?
· Who do you talk to concerning sexual harrassment at work?
· What line of talk do we use and what are the effects of it?
· What is the best way to pursuit equality at work?
· Are equality issues really something we want to pursue, considering the responsibility a greater awareness requires?

Our objective with this seminar is to bring these questions into the open. The plot centres around male and female, similarities and differences, as well as attitudes and values. What are the obstacles on our way towards equality and what are the possibilities for change? Through the illustration of how people unconsciously fall into patterns that counteract equality, we aim to enhance the awareness of the participants.
At the end of the day, they will have explored the possibilities that unfold when we challenge the habitual gender roles, thus breaking the ongoing silence in favour of open and fruitful discussions.