8th March is International Womens’ Day.
Do you wonder why that’s a “Thing”? I know why it’s a “thing”. Just picking up on Statistics around male on female violence we can see the difference and the gender gap.
I only have to look at the amazing Bridging the Gap Group on Facebook to see what is still going on in homes across the globe (the ones where the women have access to the internet anyway) These days, it’s not golfing and football taking over from adult responsibilities and parenting, it’s gaming, but the outcomes for women are pretty much the same.
Here are some other gaps you can consider, taken from an article by Hannah Rochelle at #TOGETHERBAND:
- There are more than 250 million women alive today who were married before their 15th birthday, many against their will.
- According to the World Health Organisation, it is estimated that one in three women will experience some kind of physical or sexual abuse in her lifetime. As a result of national lockdowns, cases of domestic abuse skyrocketed in what the UN called the ‘shadow pandemic’.
- The character of the Joker has won the same number of Oscars as the whole of womankind ever has for directing
- 72 countries STILL don’t allow women to open a bank account.
I was talking about the bank account issue yesterday. Some bloke on social media was complaining women never pay on a date. Well, consider this – it’s only in the last 40-odd years that women have been able to pay at all! So within my lifetime (I’m 57) women were not allowed bank accounts in the UK. 1975 I think (please correct me if I’m wrong!) So my older sisters wouldn’t have had bank accounts when they started dating. My mother never did, until much later in her marriage.
So, don’t blame women, blame the patriarchy! Let’s not allow it to divide us!
And who remembers pay day? The men bringing home an envelope with cash once a week and giving the mum “housekeeping” money for the week. Well, at least for some of us, that’s changed.
But this is a day for celebration! So let’s celebrate amazing achievements of women!
And this is not to disempower men! Far, far from it. What we want is equity. So if you’re from the #NotAllMen brigade, give your head a shake. When the British Heart Foundation asks for donations, do you shout “what about all the cancer research you’re not funding?!” No, you do not. Because that would be just ridiculous!
Don’t forget, empowered women, empower women. Don’t sit under a rock! Get out there and be awesome.
We won’t achieve equity until we are all pulling in the same direction.