March 8 marked International Women’s Day (IWD) and, though it likely passed without much fanfare, it is an important day to recognize. IWD is a global initiative celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. According to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, although Canada’s federal cabinet is now evenly split between men and women, only 27 per cent of the seats in the House of Commons belong to women. Women comprise 19.5 per cent of the board members for Canada’s top 500 companies, and just 8.5 per cent of the highest-paid positions in Canada’s top 100 listed companies are held by women. Only 593,400 women were employed in management positions across Canada in 2017, compared with 1.1 million men, according to Statistics Canada. These numbers are concerning. While we celebrate Canadian women being declared “persons” under the law in 1929, thanks to the efforts of Emily Murphy; or the heroic efforts of Viola Desmond, who graces our $10, when she said no to segregation laws in 1946 Nova Scotia; or the encouragement four-time Olympic medalist Hayley Wickenheiser provides for girls in sport; it is imperative we also recognize the work is not yet complete. Women are still under-paid, passed over for promotion and devalued for their domestic contributions – that needs to change. And until that change happens, we plan to spend every IWD showing the hard-working women in our lives just how important and appreciated they are. But equality is what they need.
