balyi martinez
BEING A WOMAN, WHAT MAKES YOU POWERFUL IN THIS COMMUNITY?
"For me, I think what makes me powerful in our community and also as a woman is I have a really important role in speaking up for people that sometimes can’t quite speak for themselves. I have to relate that a lot of power that's a lot of pressure. And I think sometimes as a woman because women are seen as more emotional. There's a responsibility to advocate for students in such a way that shares an emotional side. But it's also very practical when that student is a man that can't quite speak up for themselves they're ready to speak to a teacher on their behalf or I need to explain a situation. I think the power for me is knowing how to work with different types of people and then kind of adjusting."
DO YOU THINK WOMEN'S VOICES CONSIDERED IN SOCIETY TODAY, WHY OR WHY NOT?
"I think they are but sometimes I feel like they’re still considered with like an eye roll. I think there’s such a stigma on not accepting women’s voices that people do but I don’t know if that’s the core, its always true in how they would receive, like women speaking out for women, taking charge or being powerful in certain roles. It sometimes just feels like we’re doing a service because she’s a woman so I’m supposed to listen to her because I don’t want to get in trouble. I wish I didn’t feel like that and I wish that it wasn’t my fault but I thin there’s an element and not everyone but I think there’s certainly an element of that… especially in business and politics. But I think there are also places that are doing a great job of hearing everyone’s voice because they’re human."
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GENDER INEQUALITY AND WAGE GAPS BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN?
"I feel like it sucks. I feel really lucky that I’ve not had to work in systems where it’s not about me or gender or how much you make, it’s about like usually your years of service and how much education you have had. I fell like in this day and age, this just shouldn’t even be a conversation anymore. It shouldn’t be hard to pay people what they’re worth. I don’t think it’s fair and it also doesn’t feel like a hard problem to solve. So it’s a weird thing that we’re still doing… It makes me sad because there are incredible women out there for sure."
WHAT IS A TRAIT, CHARACTERISTIC, PERSON OR GROUP THAT HAS MADE YOU A PROUD WOMAN TODAY?
"I’ll say that I think it’s taken me a lot of time and also just growing up to find my voice and confidence that like my voice can make a difference with situations or that my voice could matter. So I think for me, the trait that led me the most was just being able to accept me for me and just basically, accepting myself, be it good or bad. I think it’s helped me find my voice and that’s when I need to speak up or when I have opportunities to stand up for things and that it’s OK, I can do it. I would usually shy away from speaking because I was afraid, most of my own like I didn’t have the confidence to stand up and then kind of battle back and forth… It was something like, someone would challenge me on and I would shut down, like okay, that’s done. I’m not going to die if I stand up for something, it’s important to speak of for things that matter and for people that matter."
IF YOU WERE TO BE PORTRAYED IN A PORTRAIT OF YOURSELF, HOW DO YOU SEE IT?
"The first thing that comes to mind is that I’m always going to be a really quiet leader and so even when I didn’t have much of a voice, I felt that people for whatever reason have always looked to me like you do, or say or whatever. So I just almost picture myself like, sitting in a space with like nothing else around… and it would be a black and white photo of my back. "
