It’s International Women’s day 2021. The theme of this year is Choose to Challenge. Time to call out gender inequalities.

But what does that mean?

If you witness or are subjected to something misogynistic or sexist or gender biased, challenge it. After all gender bias and inequality isn’t going to challenge itself. Imagine if, way back when, if women didn’t form the suffrage movement? We’d never have got the vote if we sat quietly by our stoves all day! It is baffling that outdated notions of gender are still very much prevalent now, but if they remain unchallenged, they will never change.

It’s a sad a sobering fact that at present there isn’t a single country on this planet that has gender equality. How can we profess to be a modern society when approximately half the population is being treated unequally?

Women are still taking on most of the cooking,  cleaning and domestic chores. They are struggling to fit this around work, childcare and caring for older relatives. There is absolutely no reason why these tasks should be considered the role of a woman. And although men are taking on more childcare responsibilities than ever before, they are still doing less than half of that of women. Bear in mind that more women then ever before are in employment. It’s not a simple case of women taking on more domestic roles because they are at home.

There is still a global gender pay gap, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) it will take approximately 257 years to close. 257 years to correct something that shouldn’t have existed in the first place! The tampon tax was only abolished on the first of January this year(!) This is why having an International Women’s Day is so important, women working together can bring about change, right wrongs, and improve the lives and wellbeing of women across the globe.

So this year, challenge anyone who sets limitations on you or someone else based on gender. Speak up and ask to be treated equally, it’s not rude, and the more it’s done, the more we can change things for the better. For women here, and everywhere.

Not only is this year a year to challenge, it’s a year to; celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s equality, and lobby for accelerated gender parity.  To find out how you can get involved and for more information about International Women’s Day, click here.