I was reflecting on my own journey as a woman in a ‘man’s world’, and thought about why it’s taking so long for men and women to be treated equally. I also wondered how this day of celebration for women striving for equality came to be?
The first recognition of a “National Woman’s Day” was on February 28, 1909 in New York City organized by a woman activist named Theresa Malkiel.
I’m guessing you probably hadn’t heard of her either.
Theresa was the first woman to rise from factory work to leadership in the Socialist Party of America. There was a Socialist Political Party in the U.S standing up for women over a century ago, and today we’ve evolved to have Trump leading the U.S.?
Sometimes it can feel like things are going backwards.
With that first National Celebration, women around the world were inspired to organize for their rights, which eventually became International Women’s Day on March 8th, 1911.
So why are women still at such a disadvantage in so many parts of the world when an entire century has passed?
To this day only 6 out of our 195 countries (3%) give women equal legal work rights as men according to The World Bank that measured gender discrimination finding only Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg and Sweden scored full marks.
My Own Journey as a Girl in an Unbalanced World..
I was fortunate to grow up in a beautiful suburb of Toronto with parents who practiced medicine, but it felt unfair that my brothers were allowed to do things like play at their friend’s homes, or attend sleepovers while my sisters and I were not.
We were told it’s “because you’re a girl”.
It didn’t make sense until I reached my early teens, and learned about sexual abuse, and rape. Apparently, some men do these things? I had to accept “that’s the way it is”, and women needed to protect themselves.
Over the years I’ve been silently stunned at what humanity has accepted when it comes to the treatment of women.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Centre, 1 in 5 women will be raped in their lifetime (1 in 71 for men). Does this statistic feel as incomprehensible to you?
Having been brought up to never walk alone after dark anywhere if I can avoid it stuck with me because of these statistics, and what I hear goes on in my own city.
The #MeToo movement felt like a tipping point had finally been reached. Women are willing, and have some limited space now to stand up without being as judged, and call out what’s clearly unacceptable treatment.
It still feels awfully slow.
Gender Equality in My Working World
I didn’t experience gender inequality in the workplace.
I started out my career working my way through the accounting world at Price Waterhouse, and as I rose to a VP position at Ricoh Canada, I was not treated differently because I was a woman.
Truly appreciating the fight for women’s rights in the ‘60s and ’70s not having faced gender discrimination was more about awareness for me. I couldn’t relate from my own experience.
It wasn’t until my children arrived that I became a lot more invested in the world they were growing up in.
I would later share Emma Watson’s amazing “He for She” speech at the United Nations to help them understand gender inequality they too have not faced. It helped they were Harry Potter fans!
How a Career Change Woke Me Up Spiritually
Becoming a mother became my full-time career while pursuing writing, and getting certified as a life coach, and later working as a spiritual life coach.
I became very drawn to the ‘mind, body and soul’ inner work. For me, spirituality was something that unified us, while religions seemed often to divide us.
Spirituality is our consciousness waking up to the higher divine part of ourselves that includes basic ideals – like men and women being created equal.
The understanding that as creative beings, we can create the highest experiences (most true, beautiful and good) of our lives by ‘co-creating with spirit’ has been the most powerful wake-up call.
By leading from this higher part of ourselves, we can lean in closer, and live what we know to be true. That the divine part of us sees men and women as equals.
The Impact of Women Being Unrecognized As a Distinct Group
The realization that men and women have inhabited this planet for 2.5 million years, and it’s only in the last century that women have begun having a voice, and rights as equal human beings feels absurd.
The impact of men and women not being valued equally affects all of us in ways you may not recognize.
Gender discrimination affects basic safety that’s built into our products including cars.
According to a 2011 study of more than 45,000 crash victims over 11 years, researchers from the University of Virginia found women are 47% more likely to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men.
There’s also a “gender health issue” because test trials are often done in the pharmaceutical industry based on the ‘average male’ that can cause pain, and even death for some women taking recommended doses, but not designed for the typically smaller female body.
This recent article shares the Sad Truth for Women Stil Living in a Man’s World
Where the Masculine and Feminine Fits In
When I began diving into spirituality, I began hearing a lot about masculine and feminine energy. That we have both kinds of energy within us – the masculine (results-oriented, assertive, active, fact-driven), and the feminine (nurturing, giving, intuitive).
Because of our hormonal differences, women generally have the more dominant feminine energy with naturally many variations across the board. We are, after all, the carriers of life if that’s a choice we want, so it helps to be nurturing!
Given our history of women not holding equal status for millions of years has meant that feminine energy is also less prominent throughout our systems, organizations, and family structures compared to the masculine energy.
However, there’s been a shift over the last few decades with an emphasis on emotional intelligence, the value of connection in all our relationships, and the acknowledgment that what women can bring to the table is just as valuable as men.
What the world seems to be lacking that is finally shifting is this need to balance the feminine energy with the masculine.
There seems to be a parallel of spiritual awakening happening at the same time of recognizing women’s equal status. A deeper understanding of the mind, body and soul helped me recognize that I was responsible for finding a healthy way to balance these energies inside of me.
It’s different for each of us, but the soul part of us knows that the masculine and feminine are both equally valuable, and that women are equal to men.
What’s Missing for Women’s Equality in Christian Teachings
Scholars of the bible have suggested a failure to recognize women’s influence despite the presence of them being mentioned during the time of Jesus. In the bible’s version, women disciples needed to be lifted out of their ‘evil spirits’ to reach the status of their male counterparts!
“Accompanying Jesus were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities” (Luke 8:2).
This way in which women were judged as inferior (passive onlookers or repentant prostitutes) seems ingrained in the consciousness. Have you ever wondered why the 12 Apostles were all male, and whether that was the whole story?
Spiritual Teaching That Confirms Women’s Equal Status
I’ve been seeking spiritual truth across many resources, but the greatest one by far has been the 196 papers of the Urantia Book published in 1955. I was led here after seeing the prompt 11:11 ridiculously often.
When you learn to follow your own spiritual signs or intuition, remarkable awareness consistently shows up!
I was delighted to discover so much that didn’t make sense in the bible could be explained in remarkable detail. I took notice that the origin of this revelation started with 2 physicians – a very skeptical husband and wife (uncannily similar to my parents – another sign).
In Paper 150, Jesus chose 10 women to lead his teachings (including Mary Magdelene) that were excluded from the biblical narrative:
“Of all the daring things which Jesus did in connection with his earth career, the most amazing was his sudden announcement on the evening of January 16: On the morrow we will set apart ten women for the ministering work of the kingdom… It was most astounding in that day, when women were not even allowed on the main floor of the synagogue (being confined to the women’s gallery), to behold them being recognized as authorized teachers of the new gospel of the kingdom.
The charge which Jesus gave these ten women as he set them apart for gospel teaching and ministry was the emancipation proclamation which set free all women and for all time; no more was man to look upon woman as his spiritual inferior. This was a decided shock to even the twelve apostles. Notwithstanding they had many times heard the Master say that:
“in the kingdom of heaven there is neither rich nor poor, free nor bond, male nor female, all are equally the sons and daughters of God”
They were literally stunned when he proposed formally to commission these ten women as religious teachers and even to permit their traveling about with them.”
One of our greatest spiritual teachers stepped into living this message of men and women being treated equally over 2,000 years ago, but the bible (written by men) failed to follow his word.
Perhaps it’s in part responsible for the incredibly slow level of consciousness that would help bring the status of women up to where it belongs.
I am hopeful as we awaken spiritually (connect with “God” or your Higher Source that is part of you), that both men and women will unify to respect each other’s masculine and feminine energies. That regardless of how these qualities they show up in a male or a female, both energies are valued equally.
We all deserve to be treated as equal human beings – that is a spiritual ideal.
So, this International Women’s Day Here’s to celebrating that the shift towards women’s equality internationally continues to happen for the highest good of all.
