The world is calling for an equal future for both men and women in a COVID-19 World as it marks International Women’s Day. The Day is observed on March 8 every year.
Theme for International Women’s Day 2021: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”. It highlights how women can be equal partners in decision-making processes, especially those regarding policymaking. This year, it emphasizes the tremendous efforts of women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We need women’s representation that reflects all women and girls in all their diversity and abilities, and across all cultural, social, economic, and political situations. This is the only way we will get a real societal change that incorporates women in decision-making as equals and benefits us all”
UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Women play significant roles in all facets of life and their contribution to the development of every nation cannot be underestimated. Families, societies, and economies depend on unpaid care and domestic work for their sustenance.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic has made domestic work more indispensable than ever. The UN estimated that women do 2.6 times more unpaid care and domestic work than men.
Moreover, women are also at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19. They serve as front-line and health sector workers, as scientists, doctors, and caregivers.
“When women lead, we see positive results. Some of the most efficient and exemplary responses to the COVID-19 pandemic were led by women. And women, especially young women, are at the forefront of diverse and inclusive movements online and on the streets for social justice, climate change, and equality in all parts of the world”
UN.
Persistent Gender Gap
However, an analysis of COVID-19 task teams from 87 countries found only 3.5 percent of them had gender parity. Also, women under 30 are less than 1 percent of parliamentarians worldwide. Wages to women are 11 percent less globally than their male counterparts.
According to United Nations Development Programme, in 2021, around 435 million women and girls are living on less than $1.90 a day. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed nearly 47 million women into poverty. The report also adds that women’s employment is at 19 percent more risk than men’s. That’s not all, as per World Economic Forum, while women make up 70 percent of health sector workers, only 24.7 percent of health ministers are female.
There is still a wide gap between women and men in terms of employment opportunities, wages, educational attainment, political representation, and land ownership. According to the UN, only three countries in the world have 50 percent or more women in parliament. Women are heads of state in only 22 nations. And about 119 countries have never had a woman as a Head of State.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Goal 5 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals focus on the attainment of gender equality by 2030. The UN aims to ensure that women and girls, everywhere, have equal rights and opportunity, free of violence and discrimination.
Regrettably, the World Economic Forum noted that Gender parity will not be attained for almost a century. This means that it will take some time for the world to achieve gender equality. Coincidentally, the world is calling on women to challenge the status quo and fight for women’s empowerment and representation in every aspect of life.
Historical Background of IWD
The International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day for celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
The day is very important as it also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Each year, there is significant activity across the globe as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements. It is also a day for fundraising for female-focused charities. The day is observed in some countries as s public holiday but is still largely ignored in most countries.
International Women’s Day can be traced back to February 28, 1909. However, the first gathering took place in 1911. It was only communist countries and socialist movements that used to celebrate the day. However, in 1967, the UN began celebrating it as International Women’s Day and has lingered on till today.
Colours that symbolize International Women’s Day
The colours of International Women’s Day are Purple, green, and white. Purple signifies justice and dignity; Green symbolizes hope whilst White represents purity. The colours originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908.
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