Really?
Who even thought of this title?
Everyone should care about International Women’s Day (IWD)! Women are an integral part of society, equal in importance and value to men but generally different in essence and approach to men. IWD is a great time for all of us to reflect on the achievements of women in the social, economic, cultural and political spheres of life. Women like Boss Hen and Boss Chick ; we must learn to celebrate our own.
#BalanceforBetter
This year, the day focuses on creating a balanced world for a better world. Is the world imbalanced? Why is balance even necessary? What has caused this imbalance? There is no universally accepted evidence of what might have caused the imbalance (no patriarchy, matriarchy arguments here please) but statistics like this (50% of women in Ghana are illiterates compared to 28% of men: globalnews.ca) tell us that there certainly is an imbalance. What can be done to begin to address this balance? Here are a few thoughts on what should be done.
Perspectives Must Change. Awareness Must Not Slow Down.
Most people like to approach life from their perspective which often leads to misconceptions and errors in judgment or action. Most people living in urban areas in Ghana probably grew up not believing in the whole idea of “send your girl child to school”. Why? Well, there were likely more girls in their class in school, plus, they must have known from social studies that there were more women in the world, so really, what did this all mean? That’s the perspective some have grown up with. The truth is that many males and females are not even aware of this imbalance. They need to know. Awareness cannot stop until we see significant progress.
Educate. Aspire. Take Action.
How can this obvious imbalance be addressed going forward? For a start, educate children. Getting children oriented from the onset that men and women are equal and deserve equal opportunities to attain success in life is crucial in reshaping perspectives long-term. Young women need to be continually encouraged to aspire to greatness. This can be done by highlighting positive women role models on days such as IWD in schools, religious spaces and in the media. Finally, people across genders must be motivated to take action to encourage women participation, particularly women who have achieved or are making significant strides in their spheres of influence.
Ooops! It’s time to go and celebrate all the awesome women all over the world. Bye!
Jonathan is a self-proclaimed “words and numbers guy” with a degree in Engineering and masters in Development Finance. Mix that with his word play and that’s what he applies to demystify products for consumers while providing insights to businesses.