Celebrating the achievements of women and acknowledging the work still to do.
We’re not ones to shy away from talking about issues that affect women here at ShareYourJob. We’ve covered numerous issues that women face in the workplace, from unequal pay, to discrimination around pregnancy. We don’t normally need an excuse as these are issues that affect us all at some point or another.
Today is a little different however. Today is International Women’s Day. This year we celebrate the 105th officially recognised International Women’s Day, celebrating achievements of women over the years while highlighting the adversity still faced today.
We’ve certainly come a long way in terms of equality for women in the 105 years of celebrating this day. We’ve seen the obvious leaps forward such as all women given the vote and various additions to the sex discrimination act, but we’ve also seen lesser recognised achievements, like women successfully lobbying for contraception to be available via the NHS.
Just a quick look over the past 100 or so years of all the things achieved by and for women is utterly incredible. Take a look at this timeline to see for yourself! The things that have changed for the better are outstanding and I for one am glad that I was born in a time where some of these items are no longer issues. The fact that it wasn’t until 1929 that women were considered “persons in their own right” is astonishing and really shows just how far we’ve come in a relatively short amount of time.
Today is a fantastic time to acknowledge the strong women of the past and their work that has given us the life we know today.
As far as things have come and how much work has already been done, it’s unfortunate to say that we still have some way to go… Even with many different acts in place and laws to enforce change, we still see an unequal playing field. Women are still under-represented in many top positions, women are all too often absent in STEM careers and cumulatively women earn around £300,000 less over their lifetime than men.
As much as today is about the achievements of women, it’s the perfect time to highlight the work that still needs to be done in reaching a fully gender equal society. So, this year on the 105th International Women’s Day, make sure you’re aware of the issues women still face today and, whenever possible, do what you can to ensure that we’re all just a little better off by the 106th!
Have a great International Women’s Day.