In honour of International Women's Day.

It's International Women's Day tomorrow, 8th March. The theme for this year is "Invest in Women; Accelerate Progress."

Investing in women, accelerating their progress, sure. We can talk about what equality means to everybody, especially women and most especially women of colour, and for other minorities. We can work hard at achieving equality for everybody, and at making the status quo equal with all.

However. Yeah, there's a but.

Equality cannot be achieved without equity.

What is equity, in this context, you ask? You'll all have seen that graphic, of three people facing away from you, the viewer, and all of them seem to be looking over a fence at a scene beyond our own perspective. All of them are standing on a single box each. However, one person is slightly taller than the other two, and a person on the far end is much shorter than the other two. So, this person cannot see over the fence and view what the others see.

What's the problem here? In the argument of equality, all have been given the same resources - the box. The same height and width. One box, each. They are now equal, in this sense, because they have the same resources.

However, the shorter one? They are still unable to see over the fence. They do have the same box as the others, but they actually need another box to be able to see clearly, and be on an even level to the other two. So, they are given the resources needed to have equal footing, because they don't have the height the other two have. Now, they can see over the fence.

That is equity.

In terms of gender equality and equity, the same resources, opportunities, and respect are not given to women globally. Even now, in 2024, we are dismissed, called hysterical, emotional, and disregarded, and often, we also lose our lives on the basis of our sex and gender. We are seen as low on the ladder, those opportunities being given to men, especially cis white men. Those opportunities are often denied to us. If you are a woman of colour, you're even lower on the ladder. In turn, if you are a woman of colour who is also disabled, there's the bottom rung, it's a bit cracked but I'm sure it'll hold on for you. That will outrage you, because I stated that so flippantly. Good. You should be outraged. So, why are you not working towards equity being a reality for those women on that splintered rung on the ladder, and for the other women along the ladder?

No. It upsets the status quo, and you won't be where you are without trampling on those below you.

All women, to this very day, are still fighting for equal rights, equal opportunities, and most importantly, for equity. We are human. We are people. We are also living in a society that is still entrenched deeply in patriarchy. Our roles only being important to reproduction, of taking on the physical, emotional and mental labour in households, and of just being something you view as the right to have sex with, often against our consent, or to abuse us, look at us as non-sentient entities, as objects. You cry "not all men", but it is all of you.

As someone quoted the other day, "feminism is the outrageous notion that women are people."

If we had equity, we wouldn't have feminism. We wouldn't need intersectionality. We would have equal rights, self determination, full autonomy, and the right to equity and equality in every aspect of our lives.

Invest in Women. Make that your motto of this year. Invest in women, work on equity. Not just in the workplace, but in your lives. With your femme partners, with your mothers, sisters, daughters, your friends and your play partners. This also includes trans women.

In conclusion, I'm not keen to repeat the selfish and self-serving actions of the white feminists before us, who had absolutely no regard or thought of their peers of colour and others below them. They may have paved the way for us, but it was at a great cost to others.

Invest in Women. Equity. Make it even.

Dall