Banging the Door Down:
Women and the Economy

 

 

a video discussion guide



We hope you find these discussion questions helpful.  Please think of them as a guide.  Feel free to adjust according to the size of the group, the time available, and the age and experience of participants.  Please add your own questions too.  Remember that discussions usually work best in small groups.

 

If you would you like to talk more about women and the economy, consider visiting our Forum on the Women & Economy website at www.unpac.ca .

 

For lots more information on women and the economy please go to the Women & Economy Website at www.unpac.ca or order our 2-part Women & Economy Resource Books.  For more information please contact us at:

 

United Nations Platform for Action Committee (MB)yj

PO Box 36 Station L

Winnipeg, MB  R3H 0Z4

Canada

inquiries@unpac.ca

 

 

 

                            

 

 

 

 

 

Questions to discuss BEFORE watching the video

  1. What do you think the economy is?  How are you part of it?
  2. What is your definition of being successful in the economy?
  3. What does money have to do with the economy?  Can something be part of the economy if money is not involved?
  4. What one question would you like this video to answer about the economy?

 

Comment: You may not have an answer to these questions.  That’s ok – just keep them in mind while you watch the video.

 

Questions to discuss AFTER watching the video

  1. Which character or image in the video did you really connect with?  Why?  What will you remember from the video in one year?
  2. To whom in your life would you like to show this video?  What message would you like them to get from it?
  3. If you had been interviewed for the making of this video, what would you have said about your experience of the economy?
  4. Now that you’ve watched the video, if someone asked you what the economy was, how would you explain it to them?
  5. Does the video give you a different perspective about your own participation in the economy?  What about the participation of other people you know?
  6. If someone were moving here from another planet, what would you tell her about how to survive in the economy?
  7. Did the video answer your questions about the economy?  Did it raise other questions for you?
  8. The video points out that the economy (as we typically understand it) is not fair.  Who and what is shortchanged in the economy? 
  9. The video quotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself or herself and of his or her family…Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance.”

 

Do you agree with this?  Do you think this means that everyone has the right to paid work?  Whose responsibility is it to make sure everyone has these rights?  Does it have anything to do with you? 

 

  1. The video lists 5 ideas for action:

·         Educate yourself

·         Get involved

·         Lobby for change

·         Live the alternatives

·         Network

 

Which of these things are you doing or could you do?  Are there other actions that you think are important?