In April 1991, I was eagerly preparing my first conference on women\u2019s professional development. Little did I know that this marked the beginning of what is now known as the third wave of feminism. As with the previous \u201cwaves,\u201d at the heart of our debates on gender roles was the question: how much does biology influence us, and how much is cultural conditioning? Although we have yet to reach a definitive consensus, we can confidently say both matter and significantly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The real issue lies in the different paces of our evolution as a species. Biological evolution moves at a snail\u2019s pace while our cultures race ahead on a high-speed train. In other words, the morphological characteristics that differentiate the sexes in our species have remained almost unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years, while our perspectives on gender roles have shifted dramatically in a much shorter time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A third dimension advancing at meteoric speed adds to this dynamic: technology. This human creation, whose evolution profoundly impacts our biology and society, introduces an additional temporal divergence.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Although technology has evolved more in the last 100 years than in the previous 5,000, our brains remain wired to seek security and resist uncertainty. Nevertheless, the exponential speed at which technology evolves can redefine the role of humans and gender roles. The relative scarcity of women in the tech world and concerns about algorithmic biases are part of today\u2019s debate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faced with challenges such as climate change, resource management, demographic issues, geopolitical uncertainties, and the questions posed by the power of AI, we are left with the strength of the human spirit, collective effort, and inclusion.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n But let\u2019s go back to the beginning. Let\u2019s consider the relatively modest demands of the feminists of the “first wave” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which at the time were considered radical: access to voting, education, and an end to legal discrimination in areas such as property management, employment, and marriage. This was the context for my grandmother in the 1920s. She considered herself fortunate to earn a university degree, work as a teacher, and vote, even though she accepted that marriage confined her role to family care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
The evolution of feminism<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n