Happy International Women's Day!

Happy International Women’s Day!

Today’s a day to celebrate how badass, brilliant, and beautiful women truly are. We should all be feminists. I am beyond proud to be a woman! In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, let’s talk about women!

“This isn’t just, ‘girls are better than boys, boys are better than girls.’ This is just, ‘everyone deserves a fair chance.’”

-Emma Watson

“Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception”.

-Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Statistically, women make less than men. Even if they’re fulfilling the same position. Insider released an article that states, “In 2018, a woman working full time earned 81.6 cents for every dollar a man working full time earned on average. Additionally, women's median annual earnings were $9,766 less than men's, according to the most recent available data from the US Census Bureau.” [1] Isn’t that crazy to think about?

“So, to me, feminism is probably the most important movement that you could embrace, because it’s just basically another word for equality. A man writing about his feelings from a vulnerable place is brave; a woman writing about her feelings from a vulnerable place is oversharing or whining.”

-Taylor Swift

Women’s sports have also consistently shown a major gap in treatment and pay compared to men. One article states, “There is systematic sexism in sports that leads to unequal pay, which starts with how women are marketed by their own leagues.” [2] Unequal pay isn’t the only concern for women’s sports, “When we look at these numbers, how can we ever expect that women will have the funds to fully develop leagues and players? Sure, equal pay is a hot topic, but in women’s sports it’s irrelevant until we start looking at the hurdles set in place to keep women from ever crossing the finish line. The truth is, women’s sports will not achieve parity if the barriers that keep them in the trenches remain. We can talk about equal pay all we want, but it doesn’t matter until we start investing equally in how we market and promote these athletes.” [3]

How can we expect our women’s sports teams to be successful when they’re not being given the same treatment as men? In high schools and colleges across the country, there are male sports that get new uniforms and equipment each and every year. Whereas female teams are being left with whatever is leftover or the cheapest. Cheerleading isn’t even considered a sport at major universities. This just isn’t right. The first team that came to my mind is The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. This is a team that’s defied all expectations against the odds. The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is an absolute inspiration. They’re truly heroes and it’s so exciting that these ladies are role models for so many young athletes. We need more inspirational, fearless, and encouraging women leaders in our world.

Unfortunately, there’s also an expectation of competition and comparison between women. This unquestionably should never be the expectation. Women support women. Girls support girls. We should root for each other and watch each other grow. There shouldn’t ever be a single reason for women to be put against each other. Women are capable, beautiful, talented, special, and intelligent in their own unique ways.

“Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.”

-Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Let’s all strive to support women artists, writers, engineers, athletes, teachers, accountants, veterinarians, coaches, nurses, directors, chefs, stay-home moms, assistants, postal workers, business owners, doctors, CEOs, and each and every other position women fulfill. We should cheer each other on. There’s absolutely no reason to compare ourselves or compete with each other. Let’s go ladies! Here are some incredibly enlightening feminist books that I highly recommend -

“We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

“Feminist Don’t Wear Pink and Other Lies” by Scarlett Curtis

“Untamed” by Glennon Doyle

“Moxie” by Jennifer Mathieu (The film just came out on Netflix! Such an important message. Go check it out!)

“Bad Feminist” by Roxane Gay

“A Vindication of the Rights of Woman” by Mary Wollstonecraft

“Feminism is for Everybody” by bell hooks

“Little Women” by Louisa May Alcott

“She Must be Mad” by Charly Cox

“Break the Good Girl Myth” by Majo Molfino

Women’s rights are human rights. Girls support girls. We should all be feminists. Let’s strive to amplify and uplift all the women’s voices around us. Women have come so far, but we still have so far to go. I hope everyone has a wonderful time celebrating International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Women are a force of nature!🦋

Xo,

-Courtney

Sources:

[1] 7 Charts That Show the Glaring Gap between Men's and Women's Salaries in the US. Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessinsider.com/gender-wage-pay-gap-charts-2017-3%3famp.

[2] I Thought the Main Issue in Women's Sports Was Equal Pay. I Was Wrong. Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/09/i-thought-the-main-issue-in-womens-sports-was-equal-pay-i-was-wrong.

[3] I Thought the Main Issue in Women's Sports Was Equal Pay. I Was Wrong. Google, Google, www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/sport/2019/may/09/i-thought-the-main-issue-in-womens-sports-was-equal-pay-i-was-wrong.