LET’S CONTINUE TO #BREAKTHEBIAS

Imagine a gender equal world.  A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.  A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive.  A world where difference is valued and celebrated.  Together we can forge women’s equality.  Collectively we can all #BreakTheBias

The above is straight from https://www.internationalwomensday.com/ and I’m including it here as a reminder to myself and to ALL my readers that we need to continue to #breakthebias.  March 8^th has passed, the month of March has ended and both these aforementioned points are important.  Why?

March 8^th we celebrated International Women’s Day.  The internet was overloaded with amazing posts and out of the box campaigns by brands and businesses.  I too participated via blog, social and so on.  All the hype gradually subsided a few days after and while I know that many organizations and individuals work hard at this year-round, we should still be elevating girls and women day to day, myself included.

The month of March is Women’s History Month which is celebrated in the US, UK, and AUS to coincide with International Women’s Day on March 8^th and here in Canada it’s celebrated in October to coincide with persons day on October 18^th.   You can read about the history of the person’s case here but in short, back in 1927, five women, known as the Famous Five launched a legal challenge that would mark a turning point for equality rights in Canada.

Emily Murphy, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby and Henrietta Muir Edwards asked the Supreme Court of Canada if the word “person” included female persons and after five weeks of debate, the Supreme court decided that it did not.

Shocked by this decision but deciding not to give up, the Famous Five took their case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council of Great Britain in London, which was then Canada’s highest court of appeal.  It was only on October 18, 1929, when the then Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, announced the decision:

“The exclusion of women from all public offices is a relic of days more barbarous than ours. And to those who would ask why the word ‘person’ should include females, the obvious answer is, why should it not?”

This gave some women the right to be appointed to the Senate of Canada and paved the way for women’s participation in public and political life.  I must mention that at the time of this decision (1929), while it did not include all women, such as Indigenous women and women of Asian heritage and descent, it marked critical progress in the advancement of gender equality in Canada.

As noted, there is a bit more to the history of person’s day and the case itself, but it’s important to include this back story here to highlight that the fight for gender equity is not a new concept at all.  There were women before us, those currently fighting, and many will come after us and we shouldn’t stop until that gap is closed.

We see it every day.  Canadian boxer Mandy Bujold won her appeal in Court of Arbitration for Sport against the International Olympic Committee’s qualification process for the Tokyo Olympics.  Read about that here.  Her story is an historic event and has paved the way for other athletes to come.

Not to get fixated on boxing or sports in general, I’ll leave you with this fact as an example of how much work still needs to be done:  In 2019 Irish boxer Katie Taylor was the first female to earn $1M for a fight.  2019!!!!

A personal add here – I had a colleague, now some 15 years ago, who shared with a group of us what he made at the time.  It came up in a discussion about him fighting for more pay and him sharing how he was going to go about it.  Most in the room had either the same or more experience than he and he was telling us about how he deserved it and if they didn’t give it to him he would be looking elsewhere.  White, male, and entitled.  My jaw dropped as I calculated close to 30% gap AND I had a bigger portfolio than him.

I fumed for days but I don’t sulk for long.  It did give me the balls to start having my own conversations about what I was worth, but I’ll tell you, it was an uphill battle.  It wasn’t until I interviewed with an awesome woman who advocated both for and with me and I was finally ALMOST on par with my male counterparts.

I always believed that women should be celebrated every day.  I come from a long line of strong women on both sides as well as the women on my husband’s side.  Women who have lived long and fulfilled lives and others who have endured all types of hardships and pain but still showed the world that they persevered and lived to share their stories.  Growing up I never knew what most of them went through because they didn’t really talk about it.  Either because they were just pushing through, too busy trying to survive or because they just didn’t know that it was ok to take time for themselves to heal or at least start those conversations.

We all have our stories and/or traumas and while some deeper than others, nobody’s story should be minimized or discarded just because it isn’t as bad or as colourful as the next person’s.  Where we came from should be celebrated just like those who paved the way or made life easier for us by working 3 jobs or missing a meal so their kids could eat.  Looking back makes us or at least makes me appreciate what is in front of me and drives me to what I know I deserve can achieve which is why celebrating women and fighting for gender equity is a an absolute necessity.

I’ve also met many likeminded women in my half century on this earth.  Women who have achieved greatness despite the cards they were dealt.  Women who have worked, studied, and paved their way to the top with grace and dignity without power tripping.  You can do it without stepping on others to get to the top.  I believe that. It’s also easy to lay blame but it’s courageous and beautiful to overcome the odds and be a shining light and hope for those that will still come after you.

When we achieve greatness or overcome obstacles remember, you’re inspiring someone.  You’re showing another that if you can, so can they.  It’s letting those less fortunate or those without voices know that there are advocates who know how important this work is.

Do you plan to continue to support and ride the theme for International Women’s Day 2022?

#breakthebias