Being Fully Present

Still needed?

The above question has been gnawing at me.  I hope that after you read this post, you will add a comment sharing your thoughts on the need for this day.

Yesterday, I saw numerous tweets, press releases, and other sorts of publicity about International Women’s Day (IWD).  With each one, I grew slightly more frustrated.  I was born in the late fifties, so the fight for equality seemed to be happening before my eyes as I grew up.  Between my parents’ influence and societal changes, I turned out to be an example of all that is great about being a woman (my opinion, of course).  And those things come down to the choices I made.

My parents were German immigrants and I was raised in a very traditional, male-dominated household.  I was quite the independent teen, but after I got married and parenthood came along, I chose the traditional path of being a stay-at-home Mom.  Years later, I started working and eventually built a career.  After my kids finished school, I went to college.  Today I hold an executive position for a company I love going to each day.  I never viewed my path as putting my life on hold or that my happiness was secondary; I viewed this as the life I chose and I was very happy with that.

I’ve also never been a supporter of the idea that the “glass ceiling” is still imprenetrable.  I believe that we make choices in our lives and our careers that impact what path our professional lives take.  Rather than complain about being limited by those choices, I think we need to own the choices we make and the results of those choices.  If we don’t feel that we are paid enough, recognized enough, or promoted enough, I suggest that we need to look at ourselves first.  What changes do we need to make to develop our professional skills, communication style, or leadership philosophy in order to gain what we want out of our career?  Or, perhaps we need to change jobs or employers.  We have choices.

I think some of this is also generational.  My daughter, Heather, is an entrepreneur.  She is college-educated.  She developed her passion and honed her skills working for a couple different public relations firms over the last seven years, as well as volunteering her efforts for several non-profits.  This past December, she launched her own company, Geben Communication.

Heather’s achievements have come through her own intelligence, hard work, desire to grow, being customer-minded, socially aware, and focused on hearing what her customers really need and then delivering it.  She is celebrated as a great public relations and social media expert – not as a great woman public relations and social media expert.  The circle of friends her and her husband share includes other women who are focused on building their careers right now, while other friends have decided the time was right to start a family.  All of them are seen as successful, no matter what life choices they have made.  This reflects a change in how the younger generations view women.

All that is a little background to help you understand my question: Why do we still need a separate day to celebrate ”the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future?”

Before I upset the feminist apple cart, I figured I had better do some research as to how the day came into being.

Way back in 1911, the idea of a Women’s Day was introduced by Clara Zetkin, Leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany.  Women from several countries had been working for years to gain the right to vote and the equality they hoped that would bring.  According to the IWD website,

[Zetkin] proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day – a Women’s Day – to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women’s clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin’s suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women’s Day was the result.

Here we are, 99 years later, and we are still designating a special time to focus the world’s attention on the achievements of women.  Why?  Is there an International Men’s Day?  No.  We don’t need a designated day to celebrate the contributions of men.  Why can’t we simply celebrate the achievements of people as they make their mark on our society?

Doesn’t this continued separation actually further the idea that women somehow require separate acknowledgement?  Doesn’t it send the message that our achievements are not as world-changing as those of men, and we therefore need to call special attention to them? 

Haven’t we made enough strides in the last 99 years that we can be confident in allowing our work stand and be noticed on its own merit?

I also feel obligated to add that I am not saying that we should ignore the plight of women in other countries who are still struggling to gain equal opportunities.  That effort deserves much support.  But, that is not the purpose of this day.

Interestingly enough, this year’s IWD fell on the day after the Academy Awards at which a Best Director Oscar was awarded to a woman for the very first time (Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker).  While watching the coverage after the Academy Awards, I heard an interview with Barbra Striesand.  She made the following statement:

I hope there will come a time when it will not be about a woman director and a man director, but just who the best director is; when there’s no regard for gender, but just the talent of the work.

Exactly, Ms. Striesand, exactly. 

Consider these questions: Does continuing International Women’s Day help the cause of equality?  Or, does it merely continue the idea that the achievements of women need to somehow be specially noted and celebrated?  What are your thoughts?