More than a Poster: Why International Women's Day Still Matters
Because 117 years later, we still have more people called “Mark” on New Zealand company boards than women called anything at all.
My first year living away from home, a massive “International Women’s Day” poster took pride of place on my hostel room wall. I can still see it - “Rosie-the-Riveter” stylised women marching with their fists in the air.
The poster – an old reproduction of an even older image – was a gift from my big brother who that year - 1979 - was editor of Victoria University’s student newspaper, Salient. Stephen had found the poster lying about the office and thought, correctly, that I would like it. I thought it would immediately define me to random visitors as a strong, independent woman who wouldn’t take any boy-crap. He probably hoped it would put off potential suitors. Which is another way of saying the same thing.
International Women’s Day has a proud history. The first event in 1909 saw 15,000 women march in New York for better working conditions and the right to vote. It soon caught on around the world, especially in countries where women couldn’t vote which, aside from New Zealand, was most of them. In 1917, Russian women went on strike for “bread and peace” on 8 th March which led to the abdication of the Tzar and winning women’s suffrage, and cemented that date for future IWDs.
The United Nations began observing IWD in 1975 and invited member states worldwide to make it an annual day for women’s rights. In some countries it’s a day off and, in a few of them, just a day off for women. I love that idea – the chance to see what happens when women aren’t around which would bring many workplaces to a halt. Just as fascinating might be to see which places – I’m thinking boardrooms – where it would make no difference.
Because 117 years later, we still have more people called “Mark” on New Zealand company boards than women called anything at all. I’ve spent most of the last 30 years working in a sector where I’ve often been the only woman in the room if you don’t count the audience. Women still – on average, over a lifetime – earn less than men and take less money into retirement. Almost every woman asks herself at some point, “Can I have a career and a family?” This is a not a question men have to ask themselves, and no one asks it of them either. And despite women making up half the workforce, we still arrange it as though everyone has a wife at home cooking dinner and seeing to the kids.
There is still so much work to do. And so International Women’s Day remains a favourite on my calendar. I’m less entranced by emailed offers of retail discounts for things women are supposed to adore like small appliances and lingerie, and more delighted by the invitation to celebrate the stroppiness of women. Plus I enjoy an annual opportunity to reply to comments on social media with, “Yes, there is an International Men’s Day. It’s the 19th of November. You should make yourselves a poster.”
#InternationalWomensDay
