March 8 was International Women’s Day and it was a day to not only consider the need to respect and appreciate women, but it was also a day to celebrate women’s economic, political and social achievements.
In recent years, women have made great strides in the world of economics – not only because of their abilities, which continue to grow, but also because there has been a bit of a shift in attitude in a male-dominated industry.
Slowly, women are gaining entry to the boardrooms of some of the largest companies in the country.
As the Millennial generation replaces the more aggressive Baby Boomers in the hierarchy of Big Business and corporation boardrooms across the country, it is likely we’ll see gender equality.
The Millennials don’t have that do-or-die thirst for power that the Boomers built their kingdoms on.
Today, we’re seeing women leading large organizations, and doing a great job of getting major projects and increased fundraising done through persuasion rather than bullying.
Both our federal and provincial governments are promoting women to high-profile positions and the number of women being elected for government is increasing.
That, alone, is a sure sign the general population wants more gender equality in the houses of government.
Women provide a natural nurturing attitude to their jobs and they have an innate ability to see both sides of an issue.
People, who have sensitive problems, would likely be more willing to approach a female politician than they would their male counterparts.
That is the upside of the movement toward gender equality.
The downside is there is a ton of work to do to break down the barriers to equality.
Discrimination and gender-based violence are still real problems that women face in their homes, places of work and in the very communities they live in.
Women are being held down by the fact they make less money, on average $8,000, than their male counterparts make doing the same jobs.
Pay-equity is an attitudinal problem that must be fixed, and that has to be done by business owners who need to adjust their business plans accordingly.
We need to adjust our attitudes about the roles of women in our homes.
Women are not our property to do with what we want.
Men have to make an attitudinal adjustment and realize every time they step over the line, they’re teaching their children a terrible lesson.
Once the children learn these “lessons,” they become ingrained and the circle will go unbroken.
Let’s pledge to change our attitudes; let’s pledge to provide parity.
