by Kevin Burton
Tomorrow dear reader, is International Women’s Day.
When I gave my wife Jeannette those glad tidings she said “What does that mean?”
An excellent question from an excellent woman.
“Imagine a gender-equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination,” is the invitation from the International Women’s Day website. “A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge gender equality.”
I was cynical as a young man, way before my time. Now I’m old, having acquired years of empirical evidence that my cynicism was well-founded.
So with apologies to the International Women’s Day people, let me say that, no, together we can not forge gender equality. If we could, it would have been done already. Helen Reddy, singer of that women’s anthem “I Am Woman,” would have done it, enforcing the new order with a mighty roar.
“International Women’s Day (IWD) has been around for over a hundred years, as have many of the issues still impacting women’s advancement,” the website reads. “Since 1911, IWD belongs to all who care about gender equality. Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to forge gender parity. All IWD activity is valid, that’s what makes IWD so inclusive.”
Jeannette had never heard of International Women’s Day. I hadn’t either. Would you care to guess how I was alerted to its existence? The helpful people at a florist shop let me know. That won’t surprise you.
I am sure Perfect Petals is all for forging gender equality. Come to think of it, the people running the business have all been women, and the grunts delivering the flowers have all been men.
But I think their e-mail to me was born of a different motivation.
In fact, just below the two paragraphs I quoted from the International Women’s Day website is a third, which gets down to money. Although to be fair, the website seems to be aiming its fundraising effort toward other organizations, not its own.
“Together, let’s make International Women’s Day one of the biggest GIVING DAYS of the year. Imagine the impact if all IWD events nominated a women-focused charity as recipient of fundraising and/or visibility support. But why stop there? Year-long giving can power even greater impact.”
“I don’t think a woman should be discriminated against just because she ‘s a woman, but I’m here to tell you it happens,” in the smallest of ways,” Jeannette said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with Page 7.
She then related stories of workers answering the questions of male shoppers and only afterward paying attention to her.
She talked about more egregious discrimination, such as women receiving less pay than a man for doing the same job, with the same qualifications and performance.
“I don’t think you can outwork prejudice or donate enough money to stamp it out because the bottom line is it needs to be a change of heart,” Jeannette said.
Change of heart of course, is a God thing not an International Day thing. Mark your calendar, or not, suit yourself: International Men’s Day is Nov. 19.
Please don’t take from this that I am mocking women or International Women’s Day or Helen Reddy. Some of my best friends are women.
It’s just that as I have mentioned before, I have sold that metaphorical cape. I have stopped believing I can change the world by aligning my efforts with great and grand causes.
A day for this, a day for that.
Whatever.
And you know, my biggest takeaway from all this, from the sound and the fury and the symbolism, is that I really, really need a nap.
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