Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

IWD - Choose to Challenge

  • 08-03-2021 1:20pm
    #1
    cee_jay
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 7,920 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    Happy International Women's Day 2021! This year's theme is Choose to Challenge.
    A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day.

    We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.

    From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.

    I am lucky enough to be attending a webinar with Catherine Day and Sinead Gibney as the speakers this morning - both women are very inspiring!

    Are you going to mark the day in anyway?
    Are you going to challenge?


Comments

  • #2
    Caranica
    Registered Users Posts: 10,000 ✭✭✭✭Caranica


    I'm not a fan. As far as I'm concerned, every day is my day. Gender discrimination, pay gap, domestic and sexual abuse, violence, inadequate healthcare provisions etc are 24-7-365 issues. We can't take the focus off them, or stop fighting for them, on any day.


  • #3
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    Ditto on not being a fan. It's so bloody patronising. A pat on the head.

    I got instructions from my company yesterday to change my virtual meeting background to IWD. (I didn't)

    I attended two meetings where senior VPs made this speech thanking us women for being women at work.... especially as we all have childcare and homemaking duties as well. One of them spoke about how grateful he was that his wife, when she finished work, cooked for the family while he was able to relax. The other mentioned how women love to clean and keep their lives in order.

    I nearly barfed. Talk about missing the f-ing point and ENSURING we are kept tied to the goddamn kitchen.

    Every woman on those calls remained completely silent.


  • #4
    sullivlo
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 9,994 Mod ✭✭✭✭sullivlo


    Caranica wrote: »
    I'm not a fan. As far as I'm concerned, every day is my day. Gender discrimination, pay gap, domestic and sexual abuse, violence, inadequate healthcare provisions etc are 24-7-365 issues. We can't take the focus off them, or stop fighting for them, on any day.
    Same.

    I didn’t celebrate. I attended a talk in school about women in tech careers. It was a pre-planned event that happened to coincide with IWD, rather than organised specifically for IWD.

    I think it’s a nice idea in theory, but just because we have a day doesn’t mean we should stop striving for equality the other 364 days of the year.


  • #5
    HildaOgdenx
    Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,422 Mod ✭✭✭✭HildaOgdenx


    pwurple wrote: »
    Ditto on not being a fan. It's so bloody patronising. A pat on the head.

    I got instructions from my company yesterday to change my virtual meeting background to IWD. (I didn't)

    I attended two meetings where senior VPs made this speech thanking us women for being women at work.... especially as we all have childcare and homemaking duties as well. One of them spoke about how grateful he was that his wife, when she finished work, cooked for the family while he was able to relax. The other mentioned how women love to clean and keep their lives in order.

    I nearly barfed. Talk about missing the f-ing point and ENSURING we are kept tied to the goddamn kitchen.

    Every woman on those calls remained completely silent.

    I think I would have thrown up, listening to that.


  • #6
    Faith
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,654 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    pwurple wrote: »
    Ditto on not being a fan. It's so bloody patronising. A pat on the head.

    I got instructions from my company yesterday to change my virtual meeting background to IWD. (I didn't)

    I attended two meetings where senior VPs made this speech thanking us women for being women at work.... especially as we all have childcare and homemaking duties as well. One of them spoke about how grateful he was that his wife, when she finished work, cooked for the family while he was able to relax. The other mentioned how women love to clean and keep their lives in order.

    I nearly barfed. Talk about missing the f-ing point and ENSURING we are kept tied to the goddamn kitchen.

    Every woman on those calls remained completely silent.

    I don't know if I'd have been able to hold back in that situation, tbh. In keeping with the theme, I'd have wanted to challenge it somehow (although obviously that may not have been possible in reality).

    I can't say that IWD means anything to me. It feels like any Hallmark day. What sets it apart from, say, Mother's day?


  • Advertisement
  • #7
    nottalking2u
    Closed Accounts Posts: 20 ✭nottalking2u


    I'm not against the idea of International Women's day. It doesn't take away from any other days of the year and if it raises topics for discussion or people feel a day of recognition is a positive then thats a good thing.

    Im not sure about the Theme 'Choose to Challenge'. You don't really need to 'challenge' every situation you disagree with.


  • #8
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    I know the overall response here has been on the negative side (and my response is in the same vein), but thanks cee_jay for bringing this up, it's a good thread to have.

    My main exposure to IWD is via work, and I can be a little over-critical of a lot of the ESG initiatives that come down from management. But yeah it often doesn't go down well. A year or two ago they gave a rose to all the women in the building. Because, ya know, women love flowers. I just don't think a symbol of romance is an appropriate gift to acknowledge a day that's supposed to support women's empowerment.

    That said, I'm very glad that my workplace acknowledges women's issues.


  • #9
    meeeeh
    Registered Users Posts: 11,624 ✭✭✭✭meeeeh


    Maybe they were delayed Valentine's blooms. :D

    I've seen flowers given before. Especially red carnations which are symbol of working class revolution and were given under communism where I come from (they still are among left wing parties). Red rose is also symbol of UK/Irish Labour. I wouldn't overly worry about stuff like that . It has origins in left wing politics so it is entertaining if corporations adopted it. :D

    At this stage I more or less consider it in the same way as Mother's day or Valentines.


Advertisement