International Women's Day is a day is a day to celebrate the achievements of women and to call people to action to close the gender gap. What I noticed is that there are two types of posts; one that celebrates the women in people's social media posts. The other is wishing everyone a Happy IWD with their own picture. And there's no issue with that. I think both types of posts are valid.
And...
I'm not sure that's enough. It's all feels very good, but where's the call to action for change? Is it still an issue that even needs to be addressed or can we just leave it at a day to celebrate? Global data suggests that a gender gap still exists. According to the UN's “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2023”
"At the current rate, we risk leaving more than 340 million women and girls in abject poverty by 2030, and an alarming 4 per cent could grapple with extreme food insecurity by that year."
Oh wow. That's a very different story than what was in our feeds this IWD. If you're not familiar with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, there are 17 global goals with a target achievement date of 2030. The feature article Global gender equality in 2023: Urgent efforts needed to reach 2030 goals outlines the progress with each of the goals. Most notably, goals 4-6 still need significant action.
Goal 4: Quality education: Increases in girls’ enrolment in education are commendable, but nearly 110 million girls and young women could remain out of school by 2030 if progress stalls. Gender gaps in education and training opportunities persist, affecting future earning potential and overall development.
Goal 5: Gender equality: Gender equality sees limited progress, with just two of this goal’s indicators nearing their targets. No indicator has fully met its aim... A significant investment of an additional USD 360 billion annually is crucial to achieving gender equality, a cornerstone to meet broader sustainable development objectives.
Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation: While more women now have access to safe drinking water, around 380 million women and girls live amid high or critical water stress, a number projected to increase to 674 million by 2050 due to climate change.
The call to action we've answered is to provide educational content so that our readers learn a little something that they can pursue, talk about, or apply in their life.
So while we celebrate the progress, let's make sure we don't forget the call to action. For me, it's one of the reasons why I started EmpowHER; to help us make additional progress on these goals (with a side of fun, style, and mindfulness).
IWD isn't the issue, we just need to take one more action besides celebration. We've compiled a list of ways we can empower women.
