Being the only female writer on staff at the WorldofWatches blog (and by “on staff” I mean “volunteer blogger that comes and goes as she pleases”), I felt the need to write a little something today. Really though, I was totally inspired by Google’s homepage doodle video.
So, as it turns out, March 8th used to be called “International Working Women’s Day.” I’m quite pleased with the change to “International Women’s Day” because ALL women, not just working women, deserve to be celebrated for their achievements. But this day is not just about appreciating the social, economic, cultural and political accomplishments of women. It’s also about recognizing that progress for women has slowed in many countries across the world and it encourages us to take action. Each year, the UN chooses an official theme for Women’s Day and this year it’s:
Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality
Yaaaaas, solid theme, UN. Hopefully we can get that achieved before 2030, though.
We need to stand up for women whose voices are silenced and fight for our right to say what we want, learn what we want, do and act how we want, dress how we want, marry who we want…basically do anything a man can do without fear of discrimination, violence or exploitation.
As InternationalWomensDay.com puts it, “Everyone – men and women – can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender parity more quickly – whether to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible cultures or root out workplace bias. Each of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence and commit to take pragmatic action to accelerate gender parity.”
Seriously, women push human babies out of their bodies and then go back to work a few weeks later. The least we can do is work together to make sure basic human rights are met for every woman around the world.
So, enjoy your day, ladies and spread awareness. Remember to take the #pledgeforparity and we’ll live to fight another day.
PS. It’s also National Pancake Day. Celebrating badass women & pancakes? Today is a good day!