Happy International Women’s Day!
As a woman, I feel so fortunate to have grown up in Canada,
where I feel I have all the same options as a man. Rarely have I ever felt that
I’m not able to do something because I’m a female. One complaint in Canada is
that males still receive higher pay (the average 2008 hourly wage of Canadian
workers was $25.92 for males and $22.00 for females) and receive more
management positions. I feel this is changing with females comprising 57% of
Canadian University enrollment and entering the workforce. However, I’m not
sure if there will ever be total equality due to the biological fact that women
give birth. As well, I think women often tend towards careers that happen to be
lower paying. Many women prefer to be teachers or social workers than engineers
and architects. In International Development, our program is very
female-dominated, yet we’re going into one of the lowest paying fields there
is. Clearly high wages aren’t necessarily a motivating factor for many women.
In my family, my Mom chose to be a stay-at-home mom while my
Dad had the income. To me, I don’t feel this made the gender dynamic unequal; yet to many, this is a sign of gender inequality.
Despite some gender differences in Canada, I feel pretty
comfortable with my status as a woman.
To me, International Women’s Day is now more about the women
in countries where there’s still substantial inequality. There are lots of
facts on women’s global inequality:
- 603 million women live in countries where domestic violence is not illegal
- In Saudi Arabia, women do not have the right to vote or drive
- Sex selective abortion is used to prevent an estimated 100 million female births globally, particularly in India and China
- Each day, 39 000 girls under age 18 are married
- There are approximately 1.36 million women working as sex slaves globally
These are just some statistics but there are real women
behind each of them and we need to change the stats for them. To me, International Women’s Day is a day to highlight these girls and women who don't have the opportunities I do. What does International Women's Day mean to you?
To finish on a more positive note, here's a song UN Women has created for International Women's Day:
For me, I think it's important that we have intentional days like this to a) recognize progress that has been made, and b) use that encouragement to stir future change in areas that still need it.
ReplyDeleteHappy International Womens day to you too!
ReplyDeleteEveryday is womans day for me, since I happen to be one.
I agree with you a hundred percent on putting a face to the statistics. It's so easy to disregard a number, but a lot harder to disregard a face.
Some other interesting things to think about when it comes to 'women in Canada' though is the underlying patriarchy that we aren't even aware of! Taking womens studies has really opened my eyes, and when we actually think about 'why do women tend to seek those 'caring and teaching' professions?' You begin to realize its largely rooted in society. Our culture teach girls and young women that their role in society is to be caregivers and to grow up and have babies (obvious when we think of toys and movies and other childhood factors). This isn't a bad thing, and many argue that it is like this because it is the 'natural' way. The reason it is an issue is because again, societally we de-value careers that are reliant on 'caregiving', and things associated. This largely contributes to the low pay that women recieve in Canada (80% of a mans dollar, I believe)...
I think I'd vote for your to run the world.
That's very true about why we even tend towards those professions! I actually did some searching and found an article from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln:
Deletehttp://www-student.unl.edu/cis/soci101w04/online_course/unit2/lsn07-tp02.html
It says it is more socially constructed than genetically.
Regardless of whether it's social or genetics though, I agree, these careers are de-valued even though they are as essential for society to function properly and should be more equal as far as pay
International Women's Day is a fantastic topic to blog about! :)
ReplyDeleteI do have to say though, I think that women can reach equality in the work force despite us giving birth if some basic gender roles continue to fade. For example, men in Canada can be eligible for paid paternity leave just like women, some men are even taking the leave for a longer amount of time then women, since it can make financial sense when a woman makes more money than her partner. I think it makes a lot of sense for both parents to spend time at home with the baby, and if the idea that "mothering" is a woman's role fades it should happen more, lessening the gaps in job positions between genders resulting from time taken off work to have a baby.
It does make sense for the father to stay as well. I've heard a lot of men claim they don't feel connected with their child initially, because they don't have the connection like the women does during pregnancy or breast feeding. If the man initially stays home, perhaps he would also feel more connected with the baby.
DeleteI really liked your point about women tending to look for jobs that are more socially-motivated than not. I definitely see this around me in life, but Casey brings up a very good point - could it be that that field is what is ingrained in us from childhood, more so than it being in our nature to choose that area? I'm not sure. I think that maybe, it is a combination of the two. Awesome post on women's day!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post and Happy International Women's Day!! I think in a lot of cases the stress is put on making gender roles equal by uplifting and empowering women to do what they want. While I agree that this is important, educating men to stop building their prejudices against women is equally if not more important. Last week, Bree has a post about the consumption patterns about the western world and how we need to decrease our standard of living to fully uplift the developing worlds standard of living. This is the same case! Men need be educated to give women equal opportunity and the respect that they deserve. Only then, when the mindsets are transformed, is when full gender equality will arrive. Best time is to start now, Go ladies!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat comment Graeme! I love seeing a man's perspective on this. I know in the protests in India after the rape case, a lot of men are showing their support for women, which I think is fantastic. We need the men on board to actually make a difference. Here's an interesting way some Indian men brought attention to the issue:
Deletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/01/16/indian-gang-rape-men-skirt-the-issue-opposing-violence-against-women_n_2485298.html
Awesome post Darrelle. I think International Women's day, to me, means working towards NOT needing an international woman's day. Like my friend Glen said, equality happens when we don't need to talk about it anymore. I think international women's day is about working towards reducing that gap between men and women by getting to the reasons why it happens.
ReplyDeleteI wonder though, why are Women celebrated for only a single day? Does it tend to mean that gender issues are only placed on people's radar for a single day, to be forgotten tomorrow with the next International X Day?
ReplyDeleteI don't think that it means these issues are only on people's radar for a day, but it allows an entire day to be devoted to these issues. It's the same as having World Water Day or Black History Month. It's simply a way of bringing attention to this issue for a small period of time. Otherwise, people may not even know how to begin approaching an issue. If someone wants to make a difference, they may try the Internet to search what they can do. But where do you start? What exactly do you search? I see International Women's Day and similar days as a way for people to draw inspiration from.
DeleteNo, one day of attention isn't going to immediately solve all global women's issues, but it may be a day that inspires someone to devote their life to this issue. It's a place to start.
For me, International Women's day is very special because, well, it lands on my birthday! Apart from that I feel like the woman that has single handedly changed my life, my mother, would definitely be a proud advocate of equal woman rights all over the world and for me to not support such a vision would be an insult to my mothers hard work and dedication towards improving mine and my siblings's life.
ReplyDelete