What is International Women’s Day?
Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day.
The first International Women's Day (IWD) was held in March 1911 and to this day is a day of collective global activism and celebration of women’s equality, honouring the achievements of women and promoting their rights.
World-renowned feminist, journalist, and activist, Gloria Steinem, reportedly once explained:
"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
International Women’s Day 2024 Theme
The Government of Canada’s theme this year for IWD is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”. This theme helps to show that an effective way to build healthier, more prosperous and inclusive workplaces, is by celebrating everyone’s success, including the success of women.
Creating spaces where women can thrive and celebrate their achievements in their chosen career paths whether they are firefighters, doctors, teachers, CEOs or anything else they wish, should be a top priority for all workplaces. But as many know, unfortunately, it’s not. Women around the world still fight daily for their rights and equality in and outside of the workplace.
In Canada, many organizations have expressed the utmost importance of gender equality at work. However, there is still a struggle when it comes to advancing in their careers and experiencing everyday discrimination at work. Whether they’re being overlooked for promotion or experiencing workplace harassment, women across all sectors have these experiences.
Now more than ever, women are more ambitious with nine in ten women under the age of 30 wanting to be promoted to the next level, and three in four aspiring to become senior leaders. However, there is a gap when it comes to women in colour in leadership roles.
The 2023 “Women in the Workplace Report” from McKinsey & Company, the largest study of women in corporate America and Canada, shows this gap quite clearly:
“At nearly every step in the pipeline, the representation of women of colour falls relative to White women and men of the same race and ethnicity. Until companies address this inequity head-on, women of color will remain severely underrepresented in leadership positions—and mostly absent from the C-suite.”
International Women’s Day Facts
The same report from McKinsey & Company brought a few other facts to light:
- 87 women are promoted for every 100 men
- 73 women of colour are promoted for every 100 men, specifically, only 54 Black women for every 100 men
- 78% of women felt the need to adjust the way they look or act in an effort to protect themselves from microaggressions at work
- LGBTQ+ women are 2.5 times as likely to feel pressure to change their appearance
- 48% of entry level workers are women
- 28% of C-suite workers are women
More Women in Work Doesn’t Automatically Create Change
One important note: Having more women present, doesn’t change anything, even in a more female-dominated industry.
Research by Amy Diehl, Amber L. Stephenson, and Leanne M. Dzubinski in the Harvard Business Review, looked into sectors where women were a majority in the workplace (law, higher education, faith-based nonprofits and healthcare). They found that even in an organization with a majority of women, they still felt the need to be mindful when expressing authority, downplaying their own accomplishments, experiencing a lack of acknowledgement for contributions, are interrupted by men when speaking, often limit their aspirations due to personal obligations and more. Between sectors, there were also notable differences, such as in healthcare, where women physicians were expected to spend more time with patients and provide more emotional support than is expected of male counterparts.
By removing barriers, trusting, acknowledging, supporting and listening to women, you are helping to create a safer and more inclusive environment for all. You are also opening doors and paving paths for the women of our future workplaces: Your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and beyond.
#TeamPSHSA Features
Here at PSHSA, we are proud that most of our organization is comprised of inspiring and strong women. This year for IWD, we asked team PSHSA to nominate women we work with for recognition. Follow along on our social media accounts to learn more about the incredible women at PSHSA!
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We also encourage you to read the Government of Canada’s report “Women and the workplace – How employers can advance equality and diversity” which provides strategies and resources for employers that can be used to advance women’s participation in the workplace.
March 8th, 2024
