Women's Day: The Fight for Equality That Still Has Not Ended

In honor of Women's day today, I think it's important to signify the importance of what this day stands for, and whether we as human beings truly acknowledge what this day truly means.

International Women's Day is celebrated to recognize the achievements of women all across the world in every field, but it's also celebrated because it brought awareness to issues such as lack of gender equality, and mistreatment towards women with the start of the women's suffrage movement of the 19th century, and continued to grow through the 20th and the 21st centuries. However, while things have definitely improved in some aspects, this fight is far from over.

If you take a look at current stats in the job market, in 2022, women made 82% of what men make in their salaries. This site, https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2023/03/01/gender-pay-gap-facts/, explains the pay gap during 2022. My question though is why is there still a gender pay gap, to begin with. Why do women always have to struggle and fight harder to be treated equally as men in the work industry? If we look at social media, we'll see plenty of people talking about being feminists, but the real definition of feminism for the work industry would be to give equal opportunities for pay and growth to both men and women. By denying women the equal opportunity for a job or for pay that is given to a man, you are only asserting that a woman is not worth as much as a man. In 2023, the gap has decreased, that's true, but the question remains, why is there a gap to begin with? And even then, why has it taken over 100 years for this change to truly occur?

I'd say the biggest hit to equality and women's rights, would be the rescindment of the Roe V Wade Decision in 2022. Roe V Wade was a monumental Supreme Court Decision that was decided on January 22, 1973, to protect women's right to choose to have an abortion or continue a pregnancy. The choice of having an abortion belonged to a woman and a woman alone. The right to that choice was protected by this court case. However, nearly 50 years later, this decision was overruled. The result? States making decisions on whether a woman has a right to choose what she does with her body.

My question is, why is the choice of what a woman does to her body, a game of politics? This choice should belong to a woman and a woman alone. A doctor can give his/her opinion to the woman, but whether she chooses to get an abortion, should belong to the woman alone. Not any man, not any doctor (unless it is life or death), not any government. Another thing, why is a decision being made on a woman's body but not a man's? If a man impregnates a woman by force, why do we not make the decision to castrate him as a punishment? Why are all the decisions being made for women, but we won't even talk about making decisions for a man's body, no matter what the reason? This isn't gender equality. This is objectifying women, thinking we are emotional or irrational or are unable to make any decisions about ourselves without the consent of a man.

I can continue to talk about Roe V Wade, but I think everyone assumes my point. If not, read the other articles I wrote on Roe V Wade. If we want to truly promote gender equality, then this decision should not have been overruled. Personally, I would not get an abortion unless it was life or death for me, but that is my choice. I'd like to have the choice to continue a pregnancy, rather than be forced to continue it by the governments of our country.

When we celebrate International Women's Day, we need to consider whether we truly believe and accept what this day stands for. If we are able to accept it, then we need to be open to talking about these difficult conversations as well as being open to having our opinions changed. Because if we do not introduce the changes within ourselves, how will we promote change in our society for the next generations? To truly be able to celebrate today as a holiday, let's be honest about what we think when it comes to women's rights and suffrage. Because the fact is, we still have a long way to go to truly be able to say that gender equality exists in the United States of America. If we want to honor all the women who have made substantial and significant achievements in their fields, we need to be honest with ourselves and with each other as to whether we truly believe that men and women deserve to be treated equally.