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?<\/p>\n
The first recognition of a \u201cNational Woman\u2019s Day\u201d was on February 28, 1909 in New York City organized by a woman activist named Theresa Malkiel.<\/p>\n
I’m guessing you probably hadn’t heard of her either.<\/p>\n
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.?<\/p>\n
Sometimes it can feel like things are going backwards.<\/p>\n
With that first National Celebration, women around the world were inspired to organize for their rights, which eventually became International Women\u2019s Day on March 8th,<\/sup> 1911.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s homes, or attend sleepovers while my sisters and I were not.<\/p>\n We were told it\u2019s \u201cbecause you\u2019re a girl\u201d.<\/p>\n It didn\u2019t 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 \u201cthat\u2019s the way it is\u201d, and women needed to protect themselves.<\/p>\n According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Centre, 1 in 5 women will be raped in their lifetime (1 in 71 for men).\u00a0 Does this statistic feel as incomprehensible to you?<\/p>\n Having been brought up to never walk alone after dark anywhere<\/em> if I can avoid it stuck with me because of these statistics, and what I hear goes on in my own city.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n It still feels awfully slow.<\/p>\n I didn\u2019t experience gender inequality in the workplace.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Truly appreciating the fight for women\u2019s rights in the \u201860s and \u201970s not having faced gender discrimination was more about awareness for me. I couldn\u2019t relate from my own experience.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until my children arrived that I became a lot more invested in the world they were growing up in.<\/p>\n I would later share Emma Watson’s amazing\u00a0“He for She” speech<\/a> at the United Nations to help them understand gender inequality they too have not faced. It helped they were Harry Potter fans!<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n I became very drawn to the \u2018mind, body and soul\u2019 inner work. For me, spirituality was something that unified us, while religions seemed often to divide us.<\/p>\n Spirituality is our consciousness waking up to the higher divine part of ourselves that includes basic ideals \u2013 like men and women being created equal.<\/p>\n The understanding that as creative beings, we can create the highest experiences (most true, beautiful and good) of our lives by \u2018co-creating with spirit\u2019 has been the most powerful wake-up call.<\/p>\n By leading from this higher part of ourselves, we can lean in closer, and live what we know to be true.\u00a0That the divine part of us sees men and women as equals.<\/p>\n The realization that men and women have inhabited this planet for 2.5 million years, and it\u2019s only in the last century that women have begun having a voice, and rights as equal human beings feels absurd.<\/p>\n The impact of men and women not being valued equally affects all of us in ways you may not recognize.<\/p>\n Gender discrimination affects basic safety<\/em> that\u2019s built into our products including cars.<\/p>\n According to a 2011 study of more than 45,000 crash victims over 11 years, researchers from the University of Virginia found\u00a0<\/span>women are 47% more likely to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also a \u201cgender health issue\u201d because test trials are often done in the pharmaceutical industry based on the \u2018average male\u2019 that can cause pain, and even death for some women taking recommended doses, but not designed for the typically smaller female body.<\/p>\n This recent article shares the Sad Truth for Women Stil Living in a Man’s World<\/a><\/p>\n 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 \u2013 the masculine (results-oriented, assertive, active, fact-driven), and the feminine (nurturing, giving, intuitive).<\/p>\n 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!<\/p>\n 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, \u00a0and family structures compared to the masculine energy.<\/p>\n However, there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n There seems to be a parallel of spiritual awakening happening at the same time of recognizing women\u2019s equal status.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n It’s different for each of us, but the\u00a0soul part of us knows that the masculine and feminine are both equally valuable, and that women are equal to men.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s version, women disciples needed to be lifted out of their \u2018evil spirits\u2019 to reach the status of their male counterparts!<\/p>\n \u201cAccompanying Jesus were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities\u201d (Luke 8:2).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This way in which women were judged as inferior (passive onlookers or repentant prostitutes) seems ingrained in the consciousness. \u00a0Have you ever wondered why the 12 Apostles were all male, and whether that was the whole story?<\/p>\nSo why are women still at such a disadvantage in so many parts of the world when an entire century has passed?<\/h5>\n
My Own Journey as a Girl in an Unbalanced World..<\/h4>\n
Over the years I\u2019ve been silently stunned at what humanity has accepted when it comes to the treatment of women.<\/h5>\n
Gender Equality in My Working World<\/h4>\n
How a Career Change Woke Me Up Spiritually<\/h4>\n
The Impact of Women Being Unrecognized As a Distinct Group<\/h4>\n
Where the Masculine and Feminine Fits In<\/h4>\n
What the world seems to be lacking that is finally shifting is this need to balance the feminine energy with the masculine.<\/h5>\n
What’s Missing for Women’s Equality in Christian Teachings<\/h4>\n
Spiritual Teaching That Confirms Women’s Equal Status<\/h4>\n