Every International Women’s Day, the same questions are asked.
“Why do we need an International Women’s Day?”, “Why isn’t there an International Men’s Day?”, “Aren’t men and women already equal?” – all the usual suspects.
Whether they come from a place of ignorance, fear or both, it’s questions like these that demonstrate exactly why we need International Women’s Day.
Great strides towards equality have been made, but there is so much further to go. The dichotomy is neatly summed up by the story of an all-female flight crew that landed a plane in a country where it was illegal for them to drive. One step forward, two steps back.
Oh, and incidentally there is an International Men’s Day. It’s November 19. And every other day. It’s kind of a man’s world, really.
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It’s fruitless to argue about the need for International Women’s Day. Until women can walk down a street alone without fear of harassment, abuse or worse, there will always need to be an International Women’s Day.
Gender inequality is not a myth, it’s everywhere. Ask any woman if they’ve ever been discriminated against or inappropriately approached. The answer will be ringing in your ears for days. This is what International Women’s Day is about: listening, understanding, contemplating, and then acting.
Misguided critics of IWD see it as an attack on men. Whenever the issue of women’s rights is raised, the more fragile men retreat into their imaginary foxhole, put their hands over their ears and start shouting: “What about me? What about my rights? We’re under attack!”
Whether it’s self-preservation or selfishness, neither is useful and both are retrograde. The resistance to gender equality comes from a place of entitlement, from the idea that there are things that men own and do. For some reason, there’s a belief that women are not welcome to them.
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But IWD is not simply for the benefit and advancement of women; it’s for the benefit and advancement of everyone. When women succeed, society succeeds. When women advance, society advances too. It’s not about one gender moving ahead of the other, it’s about drawing level and pushing forward together.
Research shows that countries with better levels of equality are happier places. Companies that have a better gender balance have happier staff, better retention rates and increased productivity. Relationships in which the men and women share the duties that gender roles would normally have divided are happier, healthier and – not that this is the be all and end all – have more sex.
Socially, men have every reason to fight for equality alongside women, but we also have a shared responsibility, if not a duty, to act on a global level.
In Britain, we’re grateful to have achieved a certain level of equality, but there are still places in the world where women are second-class citizens, where female genital mutilation is commonplace. On International Women’s Day, we fight for the rights of women everywhere.
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There is a more direct and positive impact that gender equality can have on men. Our burdens are not to be dismissed.
We’re expected to be the breadwinners, to be strong and never to buckle, to know and do everything that’s expected of us. The pressure to be a man is enormous, and the fact that men are significantly more likely to die from suicide than women speaks to that.
This is not a cross we were born to bear. We don’t have to literally kill ourselves over the hardship. By enabling women we enable ourselves to share the load. The sooner we give women the power to be strong and give men the space to breathe and feel, the sooner everyone moves forward. Together.
You don’t have to be a feminist to support gender equality. You don’t have to be a woman to support gender equality. All you have to be, all you need to be, is a sentient human being that wants to see a better world, and the way we get there is by making it better for everyone, not just ourselves.
Feature: Sean Gallup / Daniel Pockett / Getty Images
