Celebrate, Sisters, And Fight The Good Fight
Sydney Morning Herald
Thursday March 8, 2007
When I was in high school my world revolved around being nice to the girl who took the best notes in class, trying to find Molly Ringwald's hot pink lipstick colour at the chemist and taping myself singing, with an appropriate dose of sorrowful quiver in my voice, George Michael's Careless Whispers in my bedroom.
Little did I know that in the world beyond my high fringe, my black Ray Bans, my shoulder pads the size of European pillows and my silver court shoes, the Sex Discrimination Act was passed (1984), the Affirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986 came into effect and in 1987, for the first time, women outnumbered men in university enrolments. As I tried to work out how to open the top of a West Coast Cooler, women were being promised equal access to and treatment at work. If I had bothered to listen I probably would have believed in the fairytale. But when I stepped out into the real world where people worried about bigger issues than whether anyone would notice a flannelette sheet at a toga party, I took all this "equality" as a fait accompli. Blithely I shrugged my shoulders and thought, for a second, that someone before me had fought the good fight and the gender wars, like Judd Nelson's career, had fizzled out. Back then I had no time, no desire, to even think about events such as today, International Women's Day. What was it, anyway? My ignorance and self-absorption, as usual, stood me well for a long time. And then I did two things that made me question the real picture of gender equity. I started looking from beside me, where, true enough, men and women were in equal numbers fighting over who would go and get the cartons of milk for the tea room, to above me. Sitting in positions of power behind office doors were overwhelmingly men in dark suits talking to other men in dark suits. There was a female power black hole and I had no idea what was causing it. I then started a family. The fairytale of gender equity in the workplace was turning decidedly Brothers Grimm. The complexity of the situation was astonishing. Kids, career, yourself, your partner, your emotions. And it was not just me. My friends and I had all the advantages white Western women could hope for, but how were we going to make it all work? Today, with three little girls and part-time work, I finally "get" the importance of women coming together and continuing the discussion, the marches, the fight, the demand for equality in all spheres of our lives.In Nairobi, Kenya, women will listen to the Divas of Africa at The Shangilia Festival and celebrate African women and unite against violence against women. In Monrovia, Liberia, women are invited to watch a female basketball and volleyball tournament aimed at championing female inclusion in sport. In Dubbo, over lunch, rural women will be discussing the effects of the drought on their lives. All over the world today the lives of women will be celebrated and the challenges they still face acknowledged and examined. Like life itself, there will be happiness, camaraderie, anger and resentment. What a day.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald
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