International Women's Day

joanlawson

Hi

Today is International Women's Day, and 40 years since the birth of Women's Lib. The BBC is launching a 3-part series, Women ( BBC4, 9pm ) starting tonight.

I think women have achieved a tremendous amount in the last 40 years, but we still have a long way to go. Women are still unrepresented in Parliament, and in business, less than one in ten board members of the top 350 companies in the UK are female. It has just been shown that men outnumber women on television by two to one, with women appearing more in dramas, soaps, and softer areas, rather than in serious programmes. Women are under far more pressure in the media, because they are likely to lose their jobs when they get to a certain age.

Due to the celebrity culture which exists, girls now have Wags, pop stars, and models as their role models, and the sexualisation of young girls is a worrying trend. This is resulting in teenage pregnancy, and a rise in the numbers of girls being treated for eating disorders.

So the revolution isn't over yet by a long way, is it?

Joan

snowball

Hi Joan i had an great aunt who lived in Canada she worked in the main bank in Toronto and was the head of the fraud department. But by doing this job she had to forgo having a family of her own. In some ways she regretted not having children but she faught hard to get where she was and didn't want to give it up.
Julie

joanlawson

Hi Julie

It is a shame when women have to choose between a career and a family if they want to get to the top. But I think the needs of the children should always come first, so I don't know what the answer is.

naseebapnaapna

hi joan, you're right the needs of hte children should come first.

but it's a shame that we have tochoose between the good for our children, adn the good of our children.

and as they don't come with a manual, we don't that the chices we make are right for them or not, till they're older, when for some, it may be too late.

but i do think that in the last two decades we have lost that community feeling we had, which is such a shame.

we may be told the all things in the past weren't right, adn we know htat, but with all the bad things we needed to lose that we did, we lsot so much good, that we will never get back.

sangita

joanlawson

rehab44 wrote:

Surely you do not HAVE to have children?

Is there some unwritten law that demands you have children. The choice is quite easy.. a career or a family. Why should you have it all? to the detriment of both?

No-one HAS to have children, I agree, but men don't usually have to make the choice between their career and a family. They expect to be able to have both, so why shouldn't women too?

It doesn't have to be to the detriment of both either. My mother was ahead of her time because she ran a very successful business while bringing up me and my sister. This was at a time when most mothers didn't work. I also combined my career with motherhood, and my daughter is now doing the same thing. Each generation in my family has taught the next that it is possible to be a good mother and also to have a career. It is very hard work, but it can be done.

joanlawson

but i do think that in the last two decades we have lost that community feeling we had, which is such a shame.

Hi Sangita

Women live such busy lives these days that they hardly have time for anything beyond keeping all the balls in the air.

joanlawson

rehab44 wrote:

So why are wimmen i.e the feminists and liberals who call each other sister complaining about now ? They demand to be heads of multi nationals based purely on THEIR sex and not on ability whilst breast feeding a child in a board meeting, and when they are told they can't be the boss and to put their tits away start moaning that all men are paedophiles, latent rapists and MCP's

Get with the programme girls, don't ask for favours at work if you have a brood to look after, do the hours like the men, earn the right to lead based on ability and not on your chest size and playing the sex card!


I said that giving you the vote was a bloody bad move :x

Well you would say that, wouldn't you :?: You're only scared that we might do a better job :!: :roll:

annie_mial

joanlawson wrote:

rehab44 wrote:

So why are wimmen i.e the feminists and liberals who call each other sister complaining about now ? They demand to be heads of multi nationals based purely on THEIR sex and not on ability whilst breast feeding a child in a board meeting, and when they are told they can't be the boss and to put their tits away start moaning that all men are paedophiles, latent rapists and MCP's

Get with the programme girls, don't ask for favours at work if you have a brood to look after, do the hours like the men, earn the right to lead based on ability and not on your chest size and playing the sex card!


I said that giving you the vote was a bloody bad move :x

Well you would say that, wouldn't you :?: You're only scared that we might do a better job :!: :roll:

Not scared, Joan, terrified! And in a strop today by the looks of it, too!

Annie

joanlawson

earn the right to lead based on ability and not on your chest size

But what are the male bosses interested in :?: Ability or chest size :?:

valval

well to tell the truth i never wanted to head a company or boss men or women about but then lots of men are the same . each to there own what ever makes them happy . why do we need to celibrate womens day, why can we not just be happy with knowing we are all equalls each having a part to play. i think it a bit sexist of us really to have one, we would moan at the men if they rubbed our faces in it like that sex equality should be just that level playing field you can not demand respect it has to be earnt . but that only my opinion

salamander

I never saw International Women's Day as being about me. I saw it as about thinking/remembering about women from other countries/cultures, especially those who struggle to gain the equality that we take for granted. Things aren't perfect here but in some societies women really are second class citizens in that they have very little autonomy or control over their lives. They are who I thought of yesterday.

tkachev

When I worked I had some very suggestive comments and behaviour to put up with. I just ignored it.Who cares?????I certainly saw it as a challenge rather than an insult.

Elizabeth

joanlawson

No room for complacency when you read statistics like these.

Violence against women

Violence causes more death and disability worldwide amongst women aged 15-44 than war, cancer, malaria and traffic accidents (World Bank Study World Development Report: Investing in Health)

It is estimated that one in every five women faces some form of violence during her lifetime, in some cases leading to serious injury or death (WHO report, p. 2)

Violence against women and girls is a problem of pandemic proportions. At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime with the abuser usually someone known to her (General Assembly. In-Depth Study on All Forms of Violence against Women:)

54% of UK rapes are committed by a woman’s current or former partner. Findings from the British Crime Survey (London: Home Office Research, Development and Statistics Directorate)

It is estimated that worldwide, one in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime

joanlawson

tkachev wrote:

When I worked I had some very suggestive comments and behaviour to put up with. I just ignored it.Who cares?????I certainly saw it as a challenge rather than an insult.

Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth

Who cares :?: I think we should care because there is a fine line between such behaviour and bullying. You were able to see it as a challenge, but many women would be distressed by it. There is also the pressure not to be seen as a prude if they object, so many women go along with it even if it upsets them.

joanlawson

why can we not just be happy with knowing we are all equalls each having a part to play.

That is the ideal which we would all like, Val, but I don't think we have got there yet.

joanlawson

sally36 wrote:

I never saw International Women's Day as being about me. I saw it as about thinking/remembering about women from other countries/cultures, especially those who struggle to gain the equality that we take for granted. Things aren't perfect here but in some societies women really are second class citizens in that they have very little autonomy or control over their lives. They are who I thought of yesterday.

Well said, Sally. That is why it is called International Women's day.

frogmorton

Well said Joan

I admire your stance and am right here with you - not behind you, but with you.

There should be a national women's day to show how we value ourselves as essential members of society.

We should respect ourselves and each other as women.

We should respect our Mothers and sisters and daughters too - they should be safe from harm in any part of a civilised society.

Thank you for raising the subject

Well done

Toni xx

joanlawson

Women will utimately destroy the corporate world and politics with their appointments

Couldn't make a much worse mess than men have done :!: :shock:

I don't agree with all your views, Rehab, but you are the only man so far who has posted on this thread, so thank you.

joanlawson

frogmorton wrote:

Well said Joan

I admire your stance and am right here with you - not behind you, but with you.

There should be a national women's day to show how we value ourselves as essential members of society.

We should respect ourselves and each other as women.

We should respect our Mothers and sisters and daughters too - they should be safe from harm in any part of a civilised society.

Thank you for raising the subject

Well done

Toni xx

Thanks Toni

I'm not a militant feminist, but I am interested in issues which affect women.