HEAR US ROAR.
The day is celebrated and supported globally by industry, governments, educational institutions, community groups, professional associations, women's networks, charities and non-profit bodies, the media and more.
Collectively every person and all groups can make a difference within their sphere of influence by taking concrete action to help drive gender parity. From small powerful grassroots gatherings to largescale conference and event audiences - International Women's Day is celebrated everywhere. It's a big day for inspiration and change.
I made a list (of course I did!) of ways to CELEBRATE!!! So put on your NASTY WOMAN tee, all your feminist pins, your Dissent collar, and pink hat and LET'S GET IT!!
The ERA would clarify the legal status of sex discrimination for the courts, where decisions still deal inconsistently with such claims. For the first time, sex would be considered a suspect classification, as race currently is. Governmental actions that treat males or females differently as a class would be subject to strict judicial scrutiny and would thus have to meet the highest level of justification – a necessary relation to a compelling state interest – to be upheld as constitutional.
Wondering why the 14th Ammendment doesn't offer this protection? Read it here: www.equalrightsamendment.org/faq.htm#q8
To actual or potential offenders who would try to write, enforce, or adjudicate laws inequitably, the ERA would send a strong preemptive message: the Constitution has zero tolerance for sex discrimination under the law.
States that have NOT ratified the ERA: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, & Virginia.
To actual or potential offenders who would try to write, enforce, or adjudicate laws inequitably, the ERA would send a strong preemptive message: the Constitution has zero tolerance for sex discrimination under the law.
2. Watch the documentary EQUAL MEANS EQUAL; equalmeansequal.com
This documentary offers an unflinching look at how women are treated in the United States today. Examining both real-life stories and precedent-setting legal cases, director Kamala Lopez uncovers how outdated and discriminatory attitudes inform and influence seemingly disparate issues, from workplace harassment to domestic violence, rape and sexual assault, to the foster care system, and the healthcare conglomerate to the judicial system. Lopez reveals the inadequacy of present laws that claim to protect women, ultimately presenting a compelling and persuasive argument for the urgency of ratifying the Equal Rights Amendment.
Lopez writes: Over the course of the past seven years, I have taken a look at the top dozen issues affecting women and done an analysis of whether the laws that are presently in place are working or not to provide women with equal legal protections to men.
The subject and the real-world implications compelled us to be extremely comprehensive in our investigations and not skip steps or cut any corners. From the gender wage gap to sexual assault, from pregnancy discrimination to child sex trafficking, I found laws that are incomplete, insufficient and in some cases actually deleterious to the women they are supposed to be helping.
What are noticeably and shockingly absent are the basic explicit human and civil rights protections that men are afforded by the Constitution. In case after case, the Supreme Court demurs on protecting women because they have no explicit Constitutional right to which to point. And despite our reliance on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia candidly shared his opinion that, “The Constitution does not protect women from sexual discrimination. No one ever thought that’s what it meant. No one ever voted for that.”
Clearly, there is a very effective propaganda campaign in the popular culture designed to convince us that women and men enjoy the same human and civil rights. Studies show that 72% of Americans are completely invested in the false belief that the genders are explicitly equal under the U.S. Constitution. My conclusion, after six years and more than 100 interviews and thousands of hours of research is that this blind spot opens the door to a lot of unconscious and conscious bias as well as disguising deliberate exploitation.
Ratifying the ERA would put American women’s civil and human rights on a solid immovable foundation, impervious to the winds of political change. EQUAL MEANS EQUAL makes the strong argument that full legal equality for women is a solution that has the potential to truly transform the United States and the world.
International Women's Day states: "Purple is historically associated with efforts to achieve gender equality. In this context it was first used alongside green and white as the colors of the Women’s Social and Political Union, the organization that led Britain’s women’s suffrage movement in the early 20th century. For suffragettes fighting for the right to vote, purple represented “the royal blood that flows in the veins of every suffragette,” according to the book Women's Suffrage Memorabilia: An Illustrated Historical Study by Kenneth Florey.
In the 1960's and 1970's, use of the color was revived by feminists to represent the Women’s Liberation movement as a tribute to the suffragettes. Fast forward to 2018, and the color is a fitting follow up to a year in which knitted pink hats dominated demonstrations around the world protesting against discrimination. More recently, gender-based workplace harassment took center stage as men and women spoke out about long-simmering workplace injustices. The #MeToo social media hashtag was used extensively worldwide to draw attention to these issues online. Undoubtedly, the fallout from lawsuits filed to bring workplace harassers to justice and further revelations about discriminatory practices will continue to unfold for years to come.
The significance of the color to the women’s movement was crystallized in The Color Purple (Harcourt 1982) a ground breaking book by American author Alice Walker, which famously mapped out discriminatory practices against African-American women in the southern United States in the 1930s. Walker became the first woman of color Pulitzer Prize laureate when the book won the award in 1983.
The subject and the real-world implications compelled us to be extremely comprehensive in our investigations and not skip steps or cut any corners. From the gender wage gap to sexual assault, from pregnancy discrimination to child sex trafficking, I found laws that are incomplete, insufficient and in some cases actually deleterious to the women they are supposed to be helping.
What are noticeably and shockingly absent are the basic explicit human and civil rights protections that men are afforded by the Constitution. In case after case, the Supreme Court demurs on protecting women because they have no explicit Constitutional right to which to point. And despite our reliance on the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia candidly shared his opinion that, “The Constitution does not protect women from sexual discrimination. No one ever thought that’s what it meant. No one ever voted for that.”
Clearly, there is a very effective propaganda campaign in the popular culture designed to convince us that women and men enjoy the same human and civil rights. Studies show that 72% of Americans are completely invested in the false belief that the genders are explicitly equal under the U.S. Constitution. My conclusion, after six years and more than 100 interviews and thousands of hours of research is that this blind spot opens the door to a lot of unconscious and conscious bias as well as disguising deliberate exploitation.
Ratifying the ERA would put American women’s civil and human rights on a solid immovable foundation, impervious to the winds of political change. EQUAL MEANS EQUAL makes the strong argument that full legal equality for women is a solution that has the potential to truly transform the United States and the world.
WATCH THE TRAILER Available to rent/buy from iTunes and Amazon.
3. Sign up for emails from Action groups!
This is a very SIMPLE way to know/get info on how to advocate for your favorite causes. I love getting emails from all my Orgs with quick "here's what you need to know!" newsletter, notifications on events, and current Action-Items. It's a good (sometimes daily) reminder that I can make a difference, even if it's signing an online petition or calling my representative.
Here's a quick list of some of my favorite Action Groups: (Clickable links)
4. Wear your PURPLE!!
In the 1960's and 1970's, use of the color was revived by feminists to represent the Women’s Liberation movement as a tribute to the suffragettes. Fast forward to 2018, and the color is a fitting follow up to a year in which knitted pink hats dominated demonstrations around the world protesting against discrimination. More recently, gender-based workplace harassment took center stage as men and women spoke out about long-simmering workplace injustices. The #MeToo social media hashtag was used extensively worldwide to draw attention to these issues online. Undoubtedly, the fallout from lawsuits filed to bring workplace harassers to justice and further revelations about discriminatory practices will continue to unfold for years to come.
The significance of the color to the women’s movement was crystallized in The Color Purple (Harcourt 1982) a ground breaking book by American author Alice Walker, which famously mapped out discriminatory practices against African-American women in the southern United States in the 1930s. Walker became the first woman of color Pulitzer Prize laureate when the book won the award in 1983.
Now widely associated with contemporary feminism, the color purple symbolizes achievements gained and achievements yet to come."
BONUS: LISTEN TO Prince's song “Purple Rain” and Jimi Hendrix's “Purple Haze”!!
5. #PressforProgress campaign on IWD and Beyond
One of the most powerful ways you can influence how quickly gender parity is achieved is through championing your own #PressforProgress campaign within your own community, network, organization or group. Each year an annual IWD campaign theme is kicked off on March 8, with its focus and activity supported by groups all year long. The IWD campaign theme unifies direction and galvanises activity to provide a meaningful framework for connected action throughout the year.
No matter how you celebrate, make sure that you take at least a few moments to recognize not only the women in your life, but also recognize yourself, and the social changes that we still need to bring equity in our communities, states, Nation, and WORLDWIDE.
International Women's Day: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
One of the most powerful ways you can influence how quickly gender parity is achieved is through championing your own #PressforProgress campaign within your own community, network, organization or group. Each year an annual IWD campaign theme is kicked off on March 8, with its focus and activity supported by groups all year long. The IWD campaign theme unifies direction and galvanises activity to provide a meaningful framework for connected action throughout the year.
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| Find SELFIE cards on the IWD website! |
No matter how you celebrate, make sure that you take at least a few moments to recognize not only the women in your life, but also recognize yourself, and the social changes that we still need to bring equity in our communities, states, Nation, and WORLDWIDE.
International Women's Day: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
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