This is a reposting of a post I wrote last year about this special day for women: International Women’s day:

March 8 is International Women’s Day where women all over the world are being honored. We are being recognized for our invaluable contribution to humankind. Women are now more empowered. Women are now in key government and business positions, wielding more power and influence than their counterparts a few decades ago. Generations of women have gone through so many changes which contributed to having major roles in political and economic policies down to women who work “in the shadows” so to speak, though their contributions may be small compared to those in power, they still hold power when their influence are gathered collectively.

Women may be more empowered now, through education and the media, but there are still a lot that needs to be improved. Inequalities and unfair practices are still being done though there are improvements. During one of my electives during my grad studies, I wrote a paper I entitled “Ah, Women!” Some of the things that I wrote were¦

• • the reasons why women cannot perform to their full potential in social, economic and political life can be seen in the gaps in policy, investment and earnings because the government and private sectors seldom include into their main policies, the concerns of women.
  • households and governments almost always invest less in women, both in the areas of education and health services so they become educationally disadvantaged, given less productive endeavors, low-paying jobs, low-status jobs and less prospects for development.
  • new opportunities for women to participate in the economic, production and income-generating activities have improved although occupational roles and wage discrimination still persist
  • when there are economic fall downs, women are more likely to be laid off from work than men
  • why are women abused? the reasons are often seen in their being caught in a circle of economic dependence, fear for their children’s lives and their own, repeated pregnancies, shame, ignorance of their rights, lack of confidence due to stereotyping and social pressure.

I wrote this paper back in 1994 when I was still single and in my mid-20s. I hope a lot has changed in these things that I wrote about.

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 9th, 2008 at 12:45 am and is filed under Bits and Pieces, Lessons in Life, My Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.