International Women's Day

Yes, I know I’m a bit late, as the International Women’s Day is past already … or future, depending on how you see it. It will come again, after all.

What I wonder about when I hear there’s an International Women’s Day, is why. Why is there an international day for women and not for men? Because, one might answer that question, men have their international day every day of the year. It’s still, in many ways, a man’s world out there. Women, despite being half the populace, merely are allowed to co-inhabit it.

All over the world, women held demonstrations during the day, reminding people that they still don’t have the same rights and possibilities than men do. And the reaction of some of the countries shows all too well they’re right.

Logic would dictate, actually, that all humans should have the same rights (and duties) in society. There’s only one major difference between men and women – and that one merely exists so new life can be produced. Men aren’t more intelligent (not on the average, it’s the same for men and women), these days not necessarily stronger or otherwise hugely different. The main difference, one might say, is in the head.

Men think they own the world. The certainly act like it.

Not too long ago, in an article I read, someone explained that men get higher pay-rises, merely because they asked for them in a certain way. A man, that article claimed, would go into his boss’ office and say something like ‘I deserve at least 200 Euros more a month’ and, if he wasn’t too wrong about it, he would get them. A woman, on the other hand, would ask what the boss was prepared to give and accept it (usually far less than she ‘deserves’). My question, after reading that article, was this: How would the boss react if the woman came in and demanded the 200 Euros like the man? My guess: He’d not even give her as much as he would ‘willingly’ give, had she asked. He would still see it as something of a scandalous behaviour if the woman came in and just demanded.

Or another piece of news: some companies even admit outright in a job interview that they pay women less than men working in the same job. My reaction, if it happened to me, would simply be to tell them to shove their job where the sun doesn’t shine, but in today’s work environment, with unemployment being as high as it is, most people will merely accept less pay, if they get a job. Women might be even more inclined than men, because they learn from childhood to be more moderate in their demands.

We’ve come a long way since the first International Women’s Day, that much is for sure. But at the same time, we’ve still got a long way to go as well.