Women in Financial Services
James Tanton, Men for Inclusion Member - Won’t Fool The Children of The Revolution?
admin / 04 Jan 2024
Men for Inclusion is delighted to be showcasing member, James Tanton's thought leadership articles regularly on our blog. James was introduced to Men for Inclusion via good friend and E2W member, Karen - the wonders of connection and community!
I was introduced to E2W and the men for inclusion network by a colleague of mine at Allfunds.
My motivation to join was to share my experiences of life as an older millennial and raising a young family in an ever changing world. My son and daughter will be growing up surrounded by more inclusivity than either myself or my parents ever were and hopefully we can learn together.
I am passionate about history and finding the stories of anyone in history who has put their head above the parapet and challenged society norms. By sharing the stories of those who have broken the, so called, glass ceilings, we can educate future generations in education and their workplaces.
Last year, historian Dan Jones, asked his substack subscribers to name those who have been overlooked in history. There were a good number of responses. I decided to choose women as my answer. Not a named individual, but as a whole. Upon further reflection, I would like to nominate the women of Petrograd in 1917. Allow me to explain.
Petrograd, March 8th (Gregorian calendar / February 23rd (Julian calendar) 1917, International Women's day.
On this day 107 years ago, the course of history would change the world forever. It was, as my old history tutor at Lancaster University Dr Alan Wood described it in his “Introduction to the Russian Revolution”, the single most important political event of the 20th Century.
However I will also add to this statement that it was the single most important women's event of the 20th Century.
It is no coincidence that the revolution started on International Women's Day. Back when I was studying for my A levels, my history teacher (a woman) asked us (a group of 6 young men) why the women of Petrograd went on strike on this day. I sarcastically replied “because they had nothing better to do.” Rather than shut me down, my teacher replied that I wasn't tòo far from the truth. There had been sporadic demonstrations and strikes up to this point, but they were mot well organised. However on March 8th / 23rd February, women used International Women's Day to come out and demand greater rations for the male soldiers (their own husbands, sons, fathers, brothers) fighting in the First World War. The war was not going well for Russia, led by the hapless Tsar Nicholas II.
As the day wore on and word spread, more and more women joined the masses on the Nevsky Prospekt, the main street in Petrograd, demanding bread and greater rations.
The demonstrations continued over the next few days and by the third day, momentum had gotten behind the strking women and the situation had escalated into a general strike with male workers now joining in the demonstrations. Soldiers at the garrison in Petrograd also refused to turn against the strikers and in some cases joined tbem. This culminated with the abdication of the Tsar on 15th March / 2nd March 1917 in favour of his brother, who promptly resigned the following day, thus bringing to an end 300 years of the Romanov dynasty.
But, I hear none of you cry, what about the Bolsheviks and Lenin and Trotsky, surely they were the architects of the revolution which overthrew the Tsar?
You will be thinking of the October revolution later in 1917. (November per the Gregorian Calendar). That revolution overthrew the Provisional Government, saw Lenin return to Russia from exile and the formation of a Bolshevik government under the umbrella of communism, which would in a few years, go on to create the USSR.
This is where we have been fooled. The Bolsheviks stole the February revolution as their own, merged it with the October Revolution and in the 1927 propaganda film Oktober staked their claim as the leaders and architects of the revolution. The Women's demonstrations and strikes of early 1917 and the start of the revolution on International Women's Day was confined to, erm, history.
So women of 1917 Petrograd, I salute you, you deserve the recognition for igniting the flame for the greatest political event of the 20th Century. Your actions either directly or indirectly brought an end to Tsarist Imperial Russia, and end to Russia's involvement in the first world war brought Lenin and the Bolsheviks to power, saw the Rise of Stalin and the instroduction of the Cold War and the Space Race.
You also were the catalyst for the introduction of universal suffrage in the United Kingdom in 1918 and later across many countries around the world. Many of the countries in the West realised they didn't want to see Bolshevik style revolutions and the introduction of the female vote meant an eventual end to the suffragette movement meant those revolutions could potentially be avoided. However, because the Bolshevik movement was primarily male to act on behalf of the proletariat, the role of women in the revolution was lost. Don't be fooled.
But again, don't be fooled, there is still a long way to go, even now, for women's rights. There still needs to be equal pay, the end to women having to choose between a career and being a parent, to feel safe on the streets, to feel safe in the company of men. Women need to keep on breaking those glass ceilings, fill sports stadiums to the same level of their male club mates, the right to the same education and qualifications, to not be supressed or oppressed. To realise they can achieve anything.
The introduction of the contraceptive pill in the 1960's in turn led to the so called sexual revolution, however women are still stigmatised or shamed for showing their individual sexuality. Even down to the choices of clothes worn can have negative or discriminatory connotations. Don't let yourselves be fooled by this. Be who you want to be.
So as we approach Interantional Women's Day 2024, as it should be everyday, I thank each and every woman out there past and present for being you and for fighting the fight for your rights. Keep finding those characters and stories from history and bring them to life. If it needs another revolution, bring it on, just don't let anyone steal it from you for their own gain!
Please feel welcome to get in touch with James and share your thoughts with him. Sign up to Substack here.
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