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Balance for Better: Celebrating International Women's Day

March 08, 2019

Happy International Women's Day!


Many people believe that this day is a modern celebration of women and with all the marches and #metoo movements of our time it’s easy to understand why.


However, a quick research of the origins will reveal that it began after the Socialist Party of America organized a Women's Day in New York on February 28, 1909 in New York, and then in 1910 the International Socialist Women's Conference suggested a Women's Day be held annually.  After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there.


Finally, in 1975 it was adopted as a worldwide day by the United Nations to promote greater progress towards gender equality, and its observance may be even more relevant now.

Time's Up

According to Where Women Work, the Global Gender Gap Report 2017 shows "that the gender gap is widening, so there desperately needs to be new ways of thinking if the world is to close the gender gap. Progress is regressing and moving backwards." It's projected to take exactly 217 years to close the gap.

Two hundred seventeen years!!

Now the movement is beginning to come full circle.  The majority of people are realizing that without the support and respect from the men of the world, the women's movement cannot move forward.

Women's Empowerment

#BalanceForBetter.

The theme for International Women's Day 2019 is Balance for Better. 

So, you may be asking yourself, what can I do to help create a gender-balanced society? To help create a more balanced and fair future? And of course, to help raise awareness? 


Here are just a few ideas that can help bridge the gap while we celebrate the amazing women around us for International Woman’s day and every day after.

 

  • 1. Start at home.
    •  

    Talk about it. Talk with your husband, significant others and your children. Education is the number one way we can help move towards balance.

  • 2. Add some female perspective to your reading list.

  • A few books we'd recommend:

    • Becoming by Michelle Obama:  a deeply personal experience where she talks about her roots, how she found her voice, as well as her role as a mother.

    Exhausted To Energized by Dr. Libby, Holistic nutrition expert, speaker and wellness author Dr. Libby Weaver barely needs an introduction. She’s been empowering women with keen insights for decades, and her eighth book, strives to do the same.

  • Difficult Women by Roxane Gay. A short story collection with rare force and beauty about the challenges facing women in modern America. 

  • 3. 
  • Give back.
  • This one is probably one of the best ways to help and feel good about doing it. Donate to a local women’s shelter, volunteer at a food kitchen, participate in and donate to a charity.
  • Not sure which one to choose? Try one of the many apps that will help match you to a cause of your choosing. My favorite is Deed, that promises to make volunteering easy, social and fun. You can sign up immediately for tons of different volunteering opportunities in your area and even coordinate with friends!

    •  

    Let us know how you plan on making this day matter!




    1 Response

    Luba
    Luba

    March 08, 2019

    Interesting article, thank you. Just last night I had a conversation with my boys about gender gap and inequalities in workforce. Lots of education is essential for our growing children not to take this world at face value, but instead look deeper and think and analyze why things are the way they are. Change is slow but possible!

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