Women Have Your Say

Part of Final Project - 2019

The box started off as a way to generate research and ended up being a great way for women to anonymously write onto the comment card their thoughts on sensitive topics. Things that are often hard to say aloud could be written down and put into the box.

The painted ballot box links to the suffragette movement of women gaining the right to vote. The box was left in various locations with the comment cards. The cards are anonymous so they could be then be used in posters to show some of the problems women face everyday.

This is a personal project asking women to open up about sexism they face everyday. It’s a safe space for them to vent in private but also to be heard. The padlock helps provide a protected feel for when women put their answers into the box.

The box was left in various spaces around UWE’s campus and in public spaces such as cafes to get a broad range of responses. The feedback overall was that those who took part felt empowered after venting onto the cards. The answers to the questions were shocking but expected. Such as “I experience sexism everyday and I often feel underestimated as a woman.”

The posters act as proof of these issues addressed in the cards. Often these problems are overlooked and not taken seriously enough but are real struggles women face everyday. The answers show examples like being catcalled or touched without consent and the effect it has on women daily.