International Women's Day | Opinion

Now I know this topic is always controversial and topical considering how it may considered “sexist” because feminists impose women empowerment and equality as women > men rather than women = men. But I do want to talk about powerful women and why it is so important for women to feel like they are a part of a society, today more than ever. The fact that we need a day to celebrate International Women’s Day already probably screams sexism. People will begin asking: “why don’t men have a celebratory day?”. Here’s why:

What are we celebrating?

On March 8th, it is a day that celebrates the economic, social, cultural and political influences and achievements by women, calling action for gender equality. I’m a feminist but I believe in fair equality. I believe that it should not be empowering women through proving that they are better than men, but by proving they are just as good as men.

Empowering Women

Gender disparity still visible in many countries and it is an economic issue rather than social. Society is becoming more inclusive of women, and equity programmes are proving to help balance this.

Moreover, women still face issues of abuse and sexual harassment more commonly than men. This day, in marking the #metoo campaign help calls an end to sexual harassment that prevails. It needs to be understood that it is not just an individual issue but a global and on-going concern that widely affects many young girls and women.

More locally speaking, Jacinda Ardern, Helen Clark and Jenny Shipley – women Prime Ministers of New Zealand. They represent a sense of political power. They represent equity. They represent women of all New Zealand. International Women’s Day celebrate these influential women for stepping up, taking on roles and responsibilities that were traditionally dominated by men.

Employability

In terms of jobs, I have noticed a pattern that more and more organisations are employing staff members and giving women a more favourable outcome to their application. The lean towards hiring more women in the workplace gives more balance, but however it creates the question of whether or not the company is being unfair towards male applicants who may also possess the same qualifications. My partner has told me that being in the computer science and engineering industry, he struggles to compete against women who have an advantage towards obtaining a job over men simply because the tech industry is encouraging more women gravitate towards.

At University of Auckland there are many equity programmes, such as Women in Engineering that help balance the difference in ratio between men and women in the technology sector. Although these industry lacks women in the workplace, does this initiative necessarily create a fair and equal workplace? These are structured programmes that are created to make right of the wrongs in the history. It is true that women are disadvantaged in the past; now they are becoming more and more powerful and intelligent – women are most definitely on par with men.

Glass Ceiling

The ‘Glass Ceiling’ is a terminology that is defined as the invisible ceiling and barrier that prevents women in a corporate workplace to obtain a managerial role that are restricted towards predominantly old, white male. It refers to the extent that a woman can work up towards before being barred to a certain level in a hierarchy. This ceiling represents the underlying obstacles that are faced by women in the workplace, and the difficulty to break that glass ceiling.

International Women’s Day celebrates the power of the rise of women and not empowering themselves through demeaning men. There needs to be more awareness that this day is to celebrate unity, strength and intelligence of women and we are much more capable than what is expected in the public labour sector.

Sheuk-Yeeng Tan