Dear PB Culinary Academy, We noticed that you have a “Bridessential” Programme at your academy. We understand that marriage is tough and requires a lot of preparation, but why is the course only for “brides-to-be”? Why aren’t you teaching the grooms-to-be how to cook everyday meals and for parties and festivals? You are essentially…
To answer that question and learn more about inequality, give this book a read: The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson. Here’s a synopsis of the book on the Equality Trust’s website: “The Spirit Level: Why Equality is Better for Everyone was published in 2009. Written by Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson,…
India is obsessed with fairness. Don’t believe me? Watch anything on TV for 30 minutes and then tally up the number of fair- and dark-skinned actors/models. Or if you’d prefer, pick up the local newspaper and take a look at the matrimonial advertisements. There would be a staggering number of ads for “fair” brides and…
Words carry a lot of power. How often have you been hurt by the utterance of a single word? While it can seem like a lot of effort to always speak in “politically correct” language, it is well worth the effort for you are practicing equality through the language you use everyday. I often use…
The Equality Trust has explained wealth gap in simple terms: “Wealth refers to the total amount of assets of an individual or household. This may include financial assets, such as bonds and stocks, property and private pension rights. Wealth inequality therefore refers to the unequal distribution of assets in a group of people.” How unequal is…
“Women are the most amazing creatures on earth. They are such gentle souls.” You may have heard such sayings before. Can putting women on a pedestal be a bad thing for equality? Sexism, by definition, is the belief that one gender is superior to another. By saying that women are better than men (at gentleness…
You probably think you’re a fair and open-minded person. You make sure to be friends with people from diverse backgrounds. But you’re not immune from the effects of the society that you grew up in, are you? Could it be that you carry several unfortunate and unwanted associations that are stereotypical and discriminatory? Find out…
“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.” Watch Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the prominent African author, talk about stereotypes and the role of power in stories being told.
It is not uncommon to hear someone from South India being referred to as a Madrasi. However, this is considered offensive, as this one word “Madrasi” erases the multitude of quirks and idiosyncrasies that characterize the nearly 252 million people living in the southern part of India. This entertaining video, South of India by Enna Da…
“You have such a privileged life. Don’t waste your opportunities.” You’ve probably been told that a million times. I know I heard it so much that I got sick of it. But it wasn’t until recently that I understood exactly what privilege was. We will discuss privilege in more detail in class, but until then,…