International Womens Day
Posted by Amanda
8 March, 2011
The international celebration of all things female - International Women's Day - is 100 years old on Tuesday March 8. I can't believe there has been a special day for women since 1911 and yet so much still needs to change to give women and girls an equal place in society. My friends in London or Sydney may think I am exaggerating. After all, girls do better at school than boys, we occupy more places at university and the cliché of privileged mums sipping coffee while their designer babies sleep in designer prams is a "cliché" because it's true! What more could we want? Well, here are my 5 big reasons for supporting a day which highlights women's achievements in all fields and the huge struggles still facing millions of women. 1. Even in affluent countries, women face inequality. Fewer than one in six parliamentarians are women. Ten countries have no women in parliament and 40 others have fewer than one in ten women as elected representatives. In the UK, Only 12.5% of Board members of the top 100 companies (FTSE 100) are women. In the top 250 companies,… read more
