Tomorrow is International Women's Day March 8, 2022

 The theme for this year's International Women's Day is: “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.”

 

 The following is a response to someone that questioned why there is an international women’s day . I thought the response was quite sensitive and informative from this person (happens to be male) and a friend from Canada.

International women’s day is not a celebration. It is a day to draw attention to the fact that around the planet women and girls are treated differently within our society. It is a day for education. A day for action.

It is a day to remember that in the so-called ‘developed’ world many rights won by women in the last century are being eroded. It is important to remember those women who fought and died for the rights enjoyed by many today.

It is a day to remember that women are not equally represented in the work force. It is a day to remember that women are still paid less than men for the same work. It is a day to remember that gendered pricing exists.

It is a day to remember that women and girls are more likely to be the victims of sexual crime and when the try to raise attention to it with the male dominated authorities they are most likely to be ignored. Young boys aren’t taught to hold their keys in their hands as a weapon when they are walking to the car to the same extent young women are.

It is a day to remember that women are under represented within the decision making structures in our society. And that this under representation makes systemic change even more difficult.

It is a day to remember that right now there are 64 million girls around the planet are being denied access to a basic education.

It is a day to remember that in some societies women and girls are victimized to preserve the honour of their male relatives.

It is a day to remember that ‘white’ slavery and forced marriage targets girls far more than boys.

It is a day to remember that genital mutations are preformed on girls every day.

Humanity is not equal.

As a male I do not feel excluded by International Women’s Day. I feel honoured and privileged to be invited to listen and learn and reflect.

As someone in society who has boatloads of unearned privilege it is important to use my privilege to try to bring some of that privilege to others.

Part of the problem is that days such of this can be trivialized. It isn’t about sending flowers or having cake. It is about reflecting on the past and the present and having hard conversations about how we can make our society equal for all.