A Bloom event tackling 'the myth of the difficult woman' has lifted the lid on the challenges faced by women deemed 'too nice' or 'too difficult' to become leaders in the creative industries.
Sereena Abbassi, head of culture and inclusion at M&C Saatchi Group
Intersectionality was the opening theme for Abbassi’s wide-ranging and thought-provoking talk. "The traits for the idea of femininity isn’t attached to black and brown bodies in the same way it is attached to the white body," she said.
Abbassi’s background as an artist-performer singer, actor, voiceover artist, infused the lens through which she views the world. She explained: "I believe in the true artistic spirit that is why the arts are powerful because we get to tell stories and it is through the process of telling stories and sharing we cultivate empathy."
She explained that empathy sits at the heart of the work she does with diversity and inclusion, explaining:"The only way I can do the work that I do is by having a huge amount of empathy. To have a real deep seated faith in humanity, in people and knowing we all have a capacity for good as well as bad."
Living in Brooklyn and working as an actor was a turning point for Abbassi, as it was here she became aware the only roles coming to here were "the help" or "the overly sexualised woman".
"Being a woman of colour there were no diversity in those roles whatsoever," she explained "That is why films like Black Panther as so incredible because they actually show the multiplicity in which black and brown people exist."
Abbassi said that she believes the polarity in terms of gender in the UK is down to the lack of proximity. "For me it blows my mind we have single sex schools in this country. Is it any wonder we are not going to see any women in industry if men and women don’t know how to relate to each other," she said.
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