I heard on the radio this morning that today is International Woman's Day, which is celebrated on March 8 every year. Since I knew nothing about it, today I researched International Woman's Day.
According to the United Nations:
International Women's Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's rights.International Women's Day (IWD) has been observed since in the early 1900's. Its roots can be traced back to the struggles of women workers in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, to honor women's struggles for better working conditions and voting equality.
In 1975, during the International Women's Year, International Women's Day was given official recognition by the United Nations. The day is now an official holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. In addition, events are held all over the world.
The song "Bread and Roses" has become associated with International Women's Day. Bread symbolizes economic justice and roses represent quality of life. Here's an old clip of Joan Baez and her sister Mimi Farina singing it:
We've made a lot of progress. I live in stark contrast to the way my own mother and her mother lived. And yet...
ReplyDeleteMy workplace is a good picture: most of our front line management is female. When you get to the executive ranks, there is one. It's good for the women to make sure the work gets done, but let's not let them in on the real work of running the company just yet. Kind of like the presidency - so close and yet so far.
I wish this was a holiday here in the United States. In my field it is pretty female dominated (Social Work). In fact only one of my collegues is a male. My boss and boss's boss are female.
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