Tuesday 8 March 2011

We've come a long way, baby...

Today is International Women's Day, and although we've achieved a lot, there's still some way to go.


We have it pretty good in the UK, with women represented professionally at all levels, the choice to have a career or a family or both, and less and less overt sexism than in previous generations.


However, and I quote from the International Women's Day website: "The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men."


So, have a look at Lucy Mangan writing in the Guardian for a funny but (in my opinion) very true view of why we still need a 'wimmin's day', and Mariella Frostrup, writing very movingly and eloquently in the Observer.

Here's a smattering of Mariella: "The fact that 700,000 people will experience domestic violence in the UK, and 90% of them are white British females, that there are sex slaves imported daily to this country who live lives of abject terror, that equal pay is still not a reality nearly four decades after the act enshrining it was passed, that the conviction rate in rape cases still hovers around 6.5%, that only 12% of the UK's boardroom seats (as compared to Norway's 32%) are occupied by women, are just a small smattering of reasons why women's rights should remain a priority even here in the UK."

Anyway, to celebrate our achievements as women, and to give our support to women around the world who aren't as lucky as us, we're going to the pub tonight. We'll be at Twelve from 8pm - please join us!


Sara x

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