'International Women's Day'
March 8, 2024
International Women's Day is March 8.
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women's equality. Collectively we can all #InspireInclusion.
Celebrate women's achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to drive gender parity.
IWD 2024 Click here
With well over a century of history and change, the first International Women's Day (IWD) was held in March 1911. IWD isn't country, group or organization specific. It's a day of collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to forging women's equality.
World-renowned feminist, journalist and activist, Gloria Steinem, reportedly once explained:
"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."So together, let's all help fight the good fight. All IWD activity is valid, that's what makes IWD so inclusive. Join in and make IWD your day by doing what you can to support and advance women.
Women are the Majority of Caregivers
Excerpt from this Video:
‘Who Cares’, who are we speaking about here?
People who are caring for loved ones who are long-term unwell, disabled or frail, and elderly. Historically this has been a smaller proportion of caregiving compared to parenting, which might be part of the reason why we’re much more used to hearing about parenting. Nowadays, with medicine the way it is, with longevity increasing ageing populations, it’s becoming more prevalent.
More people are caring longer for sick and elderly loved ones than they are caring for their children.So, the scales are swinging in the other direction, and we haven’t caught up with this shift yet.
Who are we talking about? It’s women. Women all around the world are doing the majority of this kind of care as well as parenting.
This is also true in countries like Sweden, where they have very high rates of gender equality by other measures, e.g. in the boardroom. Women are still doing most of this kind of care there.
- Comments by
Author of ‘Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving, and How We Solve It’
Excerpt from the podcast transcript
The root issue is that the contributions of women, especially to the economy, have been undervalued, as less than men, so work associated with women and associated with a gender role associated with the role that women play in society is valued less, ...care work is associated with enslaved black women.
The cultural devaluing of this work is happening still to this day. The profession of care work is not called a profession. It's called 'Help', and yet millions of women are doing this work every day as their profession.
Form of work that is not regulated by the state. The Care economy is the Wild West in many ways. Even for employers who want to do the right thing, it’s oftentimes hard to figure out what that is, and it's not like any other sector where you can form a union; there is no collective.
Basically, you have families who need care and are struggling in their own right and what it creates is a dynamic where for the women who are disproportionately women of colour, who do this work as their profession it’s some of the most undervalued and insecure work in our entire economy and it’s the whole dynamic that is one of the biggest drivers of inequality that no one ever talks about.
Yet these care jobs are jobs that are consistently growing faster because of the huge demand. Huge demand and a workforce that can't be outsourced and can't be automated.
Economists are predicting that in the next 10-15 years care jobs could be the largest job category in the entire US economy. Meanwhile, the medium wage for a home care worker in the United States is $21'700 per year
- Comments by Ai-jen Poo Executive Director of Caring Across Generations (US)
Reflections.
#inspireinclusion on International Women’s Day.
I am celebrating the achievements and work of all women today, but especially the caregivers worldwide who are undervalued, and struggling.
Infrastructure and policy are not keeping pace with the current sociodemographic changes.
If you can, take a moment to make a cup of coffee or tea for a caregiver. Sit with their loved one for 30 minutes whilst she goes for a short walk. Or simply sit together with her and listen. Appreciating the woman beyond the caregiver role she does is heartening, too.
Together, we can show women caregivers that they are appreciated, valued, seen and included in our communities, through small acts of support and care for them.
#inspireinclusion.
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Background
From the United Nations website:
The History of International Women’s Day
International Women's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.
Since those early years, International Women's Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike. The growing international women's movement, which has been strengthened by four global United Nations women's conferences, has helped make the commemoration a rallying point to build support for women's rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.
Why 8 March?
19 March, the last Sunday of February, 15 April, and 23 February are among the key dates for the International Women’s Day movement. But where, then, did the 8th of March come from? Ask Julius Cesar and Gregory XIII! Before the Revolution, Russia had not yet adopted the Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 to mitigate the errors of the Julian calendar, which owes its name to the Roman emperor, who had chosen it 46 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. The Gregorian calendar is used today in the large majority of countries. In 1917, 23 February in Russia thus corresponded to 8 March in the other European countries.
First key years of the movement
Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.
From the US National Archives Equal Employment Opportunity Program (EEO) Special Emphasis Observances:
March: National Women's History Month
Authority: Public Law 103-22, 107 Stat. 58 and Executive Order 11375
National Women's History Month was established by a presidential proclamation to draw attention to and improve the focus on women in historical studies. It began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female textile workers marched in protest of unfair working conditions and unequal rights for women. It was one of the first organized strikes by working women, during which they called for a shorter work day and decent wages. Also on March 8, 1908, women workers in the needle trades marched through New York City's Lower East Side to protest child labor and sweatshop working conditions, and demand women's suffrage. Beginning in 1910, March 8 became annually observed as International Women's Day. Women's History Week was instituted in 1978 to begin adding women's history into educational curricula. In 1987, the National Women's History Project successfully petitioned Congress to include all of March as a celebration of the economic, political, and social contributions of women.
From the United States Census Bureau
March 6 Published Facts and Figures ‘Women’s History Month’.
US Women’s Earnings Statistics
Wonderful article, but so 'spot on'. Carers paid and unpaid are very undervalued by Society. Maybe it is starting to slowly change? More and more of us are sleepwalking into caring with an aging population. Sadly change happens slowly. I do feel paid Carers need more training and recognition as it is a very difficult, mentally and physically demanding job and mega challenging.
Thank you for a well-thought out, well written work! Cheers to value of the work of women infused with Empathy and Inspiration!