International Women’s Day (IWD) has a long history. It started in 1909 to celebrate working women and was a socialist-political event. Since then the United Nations has turned this day into an international event to draw attention to the gender biases that are still present in institutions and workplaces across the globe. IWD tries to dismantle the socially constructed roles of gender which not only divides humans based on their biology but on their attributes as male and female. While the categories man and woman are natural, the attributes of male and female are constructed by society which also circumscribes what role each gender will play. The aim of the United Nations is to ensure that men and women enjoy equal rights and opportunities in the economic, political and social spheres. This however is easier said and done. However, over the years governments across the world have been pushed by the Women’s Movement to ensure that the development arms of governments and non-government institutions provide an equal and inclusive space devoid of gender discrimination. Years of research have shown that when women are consulted in policy making or are placed in strategic decision-making positions, institutions tend to fare better. However, since women are often handicapped by their reproductive roles, they often have to drop out of their careers and join back after a few years or start from scratch.
Most organisations now provide adequate facilities for working women, especially those in their child bearing years in the form of nurseries and crèches where they can bring their babies and feed them without much hassle. All these incremental gains have been achieved because of the struggles of feminist leaders and feminist politics which have made systems and governments more gender-sensitive and conscious of their responsibilities towards their women workforce. Indeed, it would not be possible to have increased women’s workforce participation without addressing their reproductive roles and health.
But UN resolutions do not always work in most countries where governments are led by insensitive patriarchic despots. Indeed patriarchy is the dominating male attribute that sees women only as reproductive machines fit for the domestic space. In India, women have struggled long and hard to win their rights over what were traditional male domains in the workplace. While there are areas like the judiciary and academia where women will continue to remain hidden from leadership roles, more women today are ready to break all the ceilings that hamper their ambitions be they – glass, steel or stone. Good luck to them!