HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for acceleration of women’s equality. It celebrates the achievements of women and how far they have come in the fight for their rights within the political, cultural, and social spheres.

The International Women’s Day theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge, which highlights the importance of challenging biases and misconceptions in the interest of creating a more inclusive and gender-equal world.

I remember when I first heard there was an International Women’s Day and I thought how fabulous is that! It started way back in 1975, I didn’t know about it then. It’s been a long time and we are still fighting for equality and greater inclusion.

#ChooseToChallenge – This caught my attention last week: A divorce court in China has ordered a man to compensate his wife for the housework she did in their marriage. The woman will receive around £5,460 for five years of unpaid labour which included looking after their son (which obviously allowed him to continue with his life and earn a fortune by comparison). The landmark ruling comes after China's introduction of a new civil code.

The ruling has generated a lot of online debate, many saying that the amount paid was too little. A step in the right direction but far too little in financial recompense in my opinion.

It is so important that we, as women, continue to safeguard our financial futures, to be financially independent and have savings which we can fall back on should we need to. If this pandemic has taught us anything it is that nothing is guaranteed, the future in unpredictable.

In other news: Women now hold 1 in 3 board positions in the UK’s 350 largest listed companies. According to a Government review there’s been a dramatic shift in appointments, the number of female directors has risen from 682 to more than 1,000 in the space of five years. 👏👏👏

As many of you know I am a strong advocate for women’s rights, this has been accentuated by the fact that I have 2 daughters, and now a granddaughter. I have also sponsored a young girl through ActionAid, and I am going to sponsor another girl, because whilst there are still countries that condone FGM and marriage of a young girl to a man, sometimes 50 or 60 years older than her, (that makes my skin crawl) I will continue to do everything I can to highlight these crimes against women.

I have been a champion of women’s rights for a long time, probably in a quieter way than most but it’s still there nevertheless. Every young girl that has crossed my threshold (and there have been many) has been instilled with the belief that she is capable of doing anything she puts her mind to and being anyone she wants to be, that she doesn’t need a man to complete her. I believe that we are all shaped by our experiences, we are all the products of our past. My past was littered with male dominance over women, abusive and otherwise. I was brought up to think that men are stronger than women, thus when I was old enough and had enough time to reflect on how I could help other women, I did my utmost to champion women’s rights, to change the thinking that surrounds us and to change the rhetoric towards both men and women. I have had many a heated debate on the subject, oddly mostly with women.

Thankfully, I have watched as things have changed since I was a young girl:

1977: My first job, women were not allowed to wear trousers, yes can you imagine.

1980: Then in my next job, I was reprimanded for wearing sheer blouses!!! I argued my point and I continued to represent the ladies that I worked with, since we were working in a male dominated environment.

Things have most definitely improved though, just as an example, many heads of state are now women, I applaud them, and I am heartened for the future of all our young women. It’s so important not to forget how far we’ve come to continue fighting the patriarchy and to stand up for what we believe in. It is so easy to forget that the women that went before us, fought and died to give us the vote and more. That there have been women fighting, many behind the scenes, to get us to where we are today. It is so easy for some in a place of privilege to sit back and say ‘it’s a nonsense’ I suspect the people saying these things haven’t experienced injustice or abuse. I recently read a comment basically saying that this day is misogynistic and that we should refrain from celebrating a day solely dedicated to women, that we don’t need anyone telling us that we are awesome! I think she’s missed the point! I expect she comes from such a place of privilege.

There is still a long way to go and I have argued and railed against anyone who thinks that a woman’s place is in the home and that women are here to serve men, most definitely not!! These days both couples usually work and share the childcare and/or the upkeep of the house, I do think that the lion’s share still falls squarely on the woman though, as with everything balance is key.

So, if you can offer a helping hand to another woman, do so. You never really know what a difference you make in someone else’s life. Empathy is key, there are far too many keyboard warriors these days who are happy to hide behind a screen, one of the downsides of social media, it is good however that social media helps to highlight the struggle some women still face.

I had hoped that I would be able to work more on women’s rights in some small way and then Covid struck and it has stopped so many things, so this is on hold for now but definitely something I wish to revisit in the future. Sadly, we are still fighting the pandemic, and many are winning, however some countries are lagging too far behind. Being ever optimistic I look forward to being able to travel and see my family and friends again soon I hope, and to returning to some kind of normality, it’s been too long, I’m sure we’re all Covid weary and fed up with it now, but let’s keep strong we are hopefully on the final stretch.

And as a final note: A relationship is a partnership irrespective of gender. I will continue to fight for the rights of women so that their futures will be better and that they will no longer have to fight, they will take this equality for granted as it will be the ‘norm’ this is my dream.