The importance of Women's Equality Day
We seem to have a national day of celebration for everything. National Cream Puff Day, Getting to Know Your Customers Day - aren’t these just reductive? If you love a cream puff, it’s probably year-round. And smart business owners are always trying to get in touch with their demographic.
To the tired scrolling eyes, it gets a little ludicrous.
But the 26th of August is Women’s Equality Day.
And this is one to pay attention to.
What is Women's Equality Day?
Women’s Equality Day has historical significance. It reminds us of the ground-breaking 19th amendment to the constitution of the United States, guaranteeing women the right to vote. As a leader on the world stage, this was a substantial victory for women not just in the USA, but everywhere.
In our country, it took another nine years for the female sex to be declared “persons,” and until 1960 for all Canadian women to receive the right to vote. These milestones of lexicon and autonomous recognition set the stage for the further proclamation that women’s rights should equal those of men.
In the 21st century, social media has contributed to a network that is fuelled globally by like-minded progressives. They feel the potency of a passion previously rendered invisible by isolation and majority oppression. It is the brilliance of feminist thinkers and leaders such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Malala Yousafzai and Gloria Steinem that illuminate the space we should occupy through the worth we’ve always had. It’s the grit of the unknown mass that powers noisy change.
I was never one of these women. I was never smart enough to see the differentiators; I was just human enough to feel the confusion, shame and guilt of not toeing the line. A line that shouldn’t exist anymore, by virtue of our evolution. We aren’t primitive; we’re gifted with reflection. But how can we keep this idea present in our world? To challenge everyone to participate in the equal realization of worth for women?
The truth is that contemporary language can be off-putting to a wider audience. Words like ‘systemic’ used without thought, or ‘man-splaining’ used without empathy. Regardless of their justification, can alienate, rather than call-in.
August 26 is about purpose, not blame. Responsibility rather than punishment. A day to remember that women have historically faced barriers. Women still experience barriers. And it’s everyone’s albatross. We’ve begun to acknowledge that disparities manifest not only in brute force or paychecks, but in small diminishments. Being spoken over and dismissed. Triggering an outsized response for having or experiencing states other than sweetness or grace.
What’s most insidious, is that it’s often unconscious in those who perpetrate these forces and those that submit to them. But to simplify, we evolved from biological motivation to ideological ones. Now we’re enlightening. There is a greater platform than ever, driven by the comfort of material prosperity, for reflection, reckoning and betterment.
Evolution is always driven by restriction. Our bodies and our minds strain against an obstacle to find a new way, a better way; to adapt. That’s what women have done. In the face of violence, enforced silence and a lack of recognition of personhood, we have developed our sensitivity, nuance and strength. All of these qualities lend themselves to the future that we hope for. A world in which ethical intentionality is at the forefront of business, community and creation. Without our obstacles, we wouldn’t be so powerfully able to effect change.
Today is about celebrating the inherent value of female-identifying individuals. It’s about taking the step beyond incidental appreciation towards intentional elevation.
Thank the women in your life for their contributions. Support female-owned businesses, community organizations and leaders. Offer a helping hand. Don’t think they need help - they’ve been doing it all this time without anyone looking. But put your money where your mouth is and your heart where your idleness is.
Most of all - just look. Just see. See what usually goes unnoticed; all of the little things they do that truly make the world go round. August 26 is about visibility. There’s still so much that’s left to discover - what women have been doing all this time, without anyone looking.
Happy Women’s Equality Day.
