International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8th March each year around the world and this week I have been fortunate enough to attend a couple of events where women were celebrated, shared their experiences and discussed the challenges faced more by women, typically.
History of International Women’s Day
Its origins are in socialist movement; The Socialist Party of America organised a Women’s Day in New York City on 28 February 1909.
The following year, there was an International Conference of Socialist Women in Copenhagen on 26-27 August 1910. This was the second such conference, the first having been formed in Stuttgart in 1907. There was already an International Socialist Conference. Delegates from across the world gathered to discuss topics such as social legislation, education and public health as well as women’s suffrage. Reportedly, a debate arose when the English delegates were pitted against the German and other left delegates. The former favoured backing the “bourgeois” feminists and the latter were more in favour of a grassroots approach which prevailed. A decision was made to protest women’s suffrage in the model of the international worker’s event known as May Day and thus International Women’s Day was founded.
In 2011, when it was the 100th anniversary, the US administration published a report on the status of women in the USA. (Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being) and the president at the time, Barack Obama, declared March to be Women’s History Month. This has prevailed in the US, but in the UK only seems to have been documented as being celebrated in 2011 and 2012.
International Women’s Day has themes annually decided by the UN and this year the theme is Each for Equal; helping to create a gender equal world by celebrating women’s achievements, improving visibility and calling out inequality.
A number of missions have been identified including:
- Champion women forging tech innovation;
- Applaud equality for women athletes;
- Forge inclusive workplaces as women thrive;
- Support women to earn on their own terms;
- Empower women through health education;
- Increase visibility for women creatives.
Equality and Progress in Practice – Women in Law
On Thursday evening I attended an event hosted by the Lancashire branch of CILEx (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives).
Our first speaker was their current CEO, Linda Ford. Her own route into work was one of combining earning with learning. She successfully qualified alongside working and becoming a parent. Her varied career has had constants in setting standards and promoting reform and this made her an ideal candidate to lead this professional body. The route to qualifying as a Legal Executive is more flexible than that of a Solicitor and opens the door to more people with more diverse circumstances. My own CILEx journey began in 2002, but my qualifications from that time are still relevant and I find myself able to resume studies, almost twenty years on.
The second speaker was Dana Denis-Smith, former international journalist. Her interest in law developed as she read legal publications that her barrister husband had and she decided to make the change, train in law and secure a training contract in a top firm in the city.
She trained whilst working and qualified in employment law practice. Her entrepreneurial instinct led her to next set up a political risk consultancy business, then whilst studying for ‘a mini MBA’ in India became inspired by the outsourcing of professional work. She launched and became the CEO of Obelisk in 2010 to link up professional lawyers with work outside of the standard office model. This attitude to flexible working is not commonplace in law, but a vital lifeline to professional women balancing work and life.
Her love of knowledge and law and strong feminist values all combined with the next project: The First 100 Years. Originating in 2014, this is a history project seeking to chart the history and visibility of women in the law. The name of the project stems from the Sex Disqualification Removal Act 1919 that finally allowed women to hold professional positions.
Over the last few years, she has dedicated hours of her time to research and collaboration and the results include a book, hours of inspirational clips on YouTube where women in the law share their stories, a free exhibition that moves around the world and artwork in the Supreme Court.
I wholeheartedly recommend having a look yourself: https://first100years.org.uk/
Equality and Progress in Practice – Women in Politics
This weekend I attended a Local Government training day. The afternoon panel was dedicated to discussing how to attract more women to local government.
I think it is fair to suggest that the Labour Party do demonstrate commitment to equality of representation. There are currently 220 elected female MPs out of a House total of 650; that is 34%.
104 of those women are Labour Party MPs – this is 47%. When you consider the majority that the Conservative Party currently hold, this statistic alone shows there is going to be a big difference between representation. Labour have 220 MPs altogether, so 51% of the are women. By contrast, the Conservative Party have 87/365, or 24%.
The wonderful women this weekend were Cllr Arooj Shah of Oldham, Cllr Adele New of Trafford and Dr Erica Lewis, Lancashire County Council Leader.
Our panel and the capable chair and regional director Anna Hutchinson were generous in sharing their experiences and inviting attendees to do the same. It was delightful to hear about women not only forging ahead, but seeking to bring others with them.
During comment, Cllr Gina Lewis made an excellent point about the language used against women; they are seen as bolshy or aggressive rather than firm or assertive. Cllr Kate Walsh attended the event with her young son, a babe in arms. He also attends meetings with her as she balances serving her constituents with serving him his dinner on draught. She reported that breastfeeding in meetings had attracted negative comments, but this does not deter her, and rightly so. Rather she uses her experience and position to inspire and educate.
The common threads I heard from all speakers were that the decision to put ones self forward for local government involves a combination of willingness to take the risk as well as the ‘can do’ confidence, and a need for an excellent support network who understand the sacrfices you sometimes have to make.
I have been inspired greatly this week and hope to focus more on inspirational women in law and politics throughout the month of March!