The Expression Hub

“Progress begins with a woman who dares to step beyond limits.”

-Anonymous

Every year 8th March is celebrated as International Women’s Day. Since, its inception in the early 1900s, celebration for this day has evolved immensely, as today it is a day which is marked with flowers and celebratory messages. But are we really celebrating it the way in which it was originally intended? Let’s explore.

What is now looked upon as a commercial holiday or a day filled with celebratory messages and flowers originally started as a powerful political movement in 1908. This movement demanded better working conditions, voting rights and an end to exploitation. The day gained traction when in 1917, the women of Russia staged a strike for bread and peace which sparked the Russian Revolution. These instances of history remind us that this day was not born out of sentiment but out of necessity and struggle.

But it seems that as the wheels of the time turned, the day became more of a day wherein we started to acknowledge the contributions of women or offered symbolic gestures.Wherein in its truest sense, it should be about critically examining the persistent inequalities and taking concrete actions to address them.

Some of these issues which are still persistent in today’s times are listed below:

1. Education:We often hear of women empowerment or that girls education should be given a priority. But how empowered do we make our girls? 129 million girls still do not have proper access to education according to UNESCO 2024 and only 42% of girls in rural areas complete lower secondary education according to UNICEF.
2. Gender pay gap: This is a reality in all the countries and in all the sectors.According to UN Women 2023, for every dollar earned by a man, woman earns 77 cents. And if we go by the current rate of progress, it will take approximately 257 years to close the global economic gender gap according to the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2024. Even in developed countries, women earn 18 cents lesser for every dollar earned.
3. Unpaid care work- Recently there was a movie named Mrs. which was released in my country which caused a huge uproar in my country. It highlighted the drudgery of a housewife and acted as a mirror to the society. But isn’t this a reality in a lot of households? 76.2% of total unpaid care work is carried out by women according to a report by International Labour Organization. Household work which is looked down upon by a lot of people if given a proper valuation and the same status as that of any profession is equivalent to 13% of the global GDP(Oxfam 2024). And that I feel is a pretty major share.
4. Leadership Gap: This is closely related to the number of women participating in workforce. If the numbers of Grant Thompson are taken into consideration, only 29% of the senior positions are held by women globally. And only 8.8% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women.
5. Workplace and economic participation: Global labour participation rate of women is 46.9% as compared to a 71.4% of men according to International Labour Organization 2024. Women who are in the tech fields do not have a lifespan of more than 10 years according to McKinsey .

So, what does the true spirit of Women’s Day call for? It calls for transformation and not mere hypocrisy which means-

1. Supporting policies that call for gender equality in workplaces and communities:This calls for pay transparency legislation, comprehensive parental leave policies, affordable childcare systems, anti-discrimination laws with effective enforcement mechanisms .Maybe a page can be taken from Iceland’s Equal Pay Certification Law which requires companies with 25+ employees to prove they pay men and women equally for equal work.
2. Giving a platform to women who feel that their voices are marginalized: This can be done in the form of establishing mentorship programs and leadership pathways, creating safe spaces for women to share their experiences, supporting women-led organizations, ensuring women from diverse backgrounds get a voice in decision making. These measure will ensure that women hold power in conversations and decisions.
3. Gender- sensitizing our boys and men as active partners for gender equality: Let’s learn to accept the fact that gender equality will not be achieved by women alone. We need to educate our boys and men about consent, respect and healthy masculinity, highlight male role models who champion for gender equality and teach men to take on their equal share of domestic and care work. Organizations like MenEngage Alliance demonstrate how men can work alongside women while respecting their leadership.
4. Deep examination of how we tend to propagate bias which actually fuels inequality: Personal reflection and institutional assessment are essential for meaningful change. This can be undertaken by questioning gendered assumptions about leadership, competence, and ambition;challenging the different standards applied to women’s appearance, communication styles, and emotional expression; reviewing hiring, promotion, and evaluation practices for gender bias. These measures can lead to concrete changes in behavior and institutional practices if implemented properly.

When we start to change our day to day actions and challenge the systemic inequality, that is when we will start honoring the legacy at its best.This is because these actions will not only benefit just women but entire communities and societies.And that is when the true meaning of Women’s Day will be embraced. As, the true spirit of Women’s Day should be a call to action to address the issues which plague the entire world rather than just a day of recognition.