International Women’s Day on the 8th of March aims to celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women, and address current gender inequalities in the strive for gender parity.
‘It is tough for women – it’s easier than 100 years or even 50 years ago, but there are always new challenges to face.” – Kerry Prendergast, former Mayor of Wellington.
Remembering that there was a time in society when a woman was worth less than a slave, had no right to work in a man’s role, and wasn’t allowed to vote; it’s somewhat easy to be blindsided by our progress as a society.
“NZ has a long way to go, we cannot rest on what has already been achieved, we need to keep pushing for better percentages. This is an opportunity to review this subject as a whole, and as New Zealanders we should be leading it.”- John McBeth
This is a day to not only celebrate how far we’ve come but also address the remaining issues based on gender inequality – from pay inequity, unfair treatment at work, and barriers that hold women back due to the traditional relationship structure.
So, why should we celebrate International Women’s Day and care about pursuing gender parity?
“The goal is for gender to be irrelevant around your role. Not just striving to make things better for women but making things better for men as well.” – Anna Guenther, founder at PledgeMe.
GO TO: The celebrity lunch debate“Is it in the Genes?”8th March 12-2pm. Bookings essential via www.kapitichamber.org.nz
FOLLOW: The Kapiti Chamber of Commerce on Facebook.
WATCH: New Zealand movie “Suffragette,” directed by Sarah Gavron telling the inspirational story of the early feminist movement who risked everything in the fight for equality – get ready to be New Zealand proud as this movie proves just how world leading New Zealand was by giving women the vote.
READ: Explore more about inequality with the Non Fiction book by American historian and political scientist Howard Zinn, titled ‘The People’s History of the United States.’ Zinn presents his views that American history is to a large extent the exploitation of the majority by an elite minority.