One day of honoring women and having the month of March dedicated to women’s history will never be enough to praise and admire the accomplishments and strides made personally and professionally by women. However, it makes me proud to see it recognized more and more each year.
International Women’s Day to me means that all women deserve to feel appreciated, heard, seen, and recognized for their accomplishments, stories, and also struggles. It’s a day when everyone should continue to contribute more resources to women of all walks of life, even if it’s as simple as lending a helping hand or a listening ear to have their stories elevated.
“Equality” is a word that’s thrown around often in the media and being a feminist gets a bad rep, especially from men. Unfortunately, a poll done by Ipsos states that one in three men believe that feminism does more harm than good. The definition has been battered down and misconstrued over the years leading lots of uninformed men to believe that women strive for more power over them, which isn’t the case – it’s to be seen as equals and to receive the same opportunities as men.
While I believe International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the achievements made by women, I also think it’s a day to hear women out on struggles they might’ve faced in the past that they felt compelled to be silent about. All women deserve a place to share their voices, whether it’s to celebrate something or raise awareness around a potential situation.
Feeling silenced is an issue that many women face at some point in their lives. Whether it’s within a workplace ruled by men, community, relationships both platonic and romantic, and many more. The list doesn’t stop there, but those are only a few examples of where women generally deal with this problem. When a woman does have a voice or shares her story or opinion, she is sometimes seen as reactive, over-emotional, moody, or other words that aren’t as appropriate. When the situation is flipped and a man speaks up or takes charge, he’s often seen as a leader or called brave.
Removing the negative narrative and judgment around women having a voice and changing it to something more positive is just one of the few things that International Women’s Day means to me. Uplifting women’s voices and making them feel seen and heard is one step in the right direction, but doing so is what matters most. This is a day to honor and celebrate women just as much as it is a day to elevate their voices, believe their stories, and work harder to create a society where women feel respected, safe, heard, seen, believed, and that their voice matters just as much as a man’s.