International Women’s Day 2019
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Happy International Women’s Day to you all from us here at b**p.
What’s this year’s theme?
International Women’s Day is something we take pride in celebrating every year, and this year is no exception. The theme for 2019 is #BalanceForBetter, meaning that we’re pushing for the equal representation of women in all fields of work, the media and in education.
#BalanceForBetter this year draws our attention to the many gender inequalities going on in the world right now, despite how far we have come as a movement. In light of this, here are some frightening statistics on the gender balance in prominent areas of our society:
— 32% of MPs in Parliament are women. That’s 208 of 650.
— Of the CEOs of the companies that made up Fortune’s 500
— 31 million girls of primary school age are out of education.
— 15 million girls will never get the chance to learn to read or write compared to about 10 million boys.
— Men receive 62% of bylines and other credits in print, online and TV industries.
— In 2018, 18% of the world’s billionaires were women.
These statistics may seem, at first glance, totally depressing. And, in many ways, they are indeed. But they must serve as a reminder of how crucial it is for the feminist movement to push ahead and gain that better representation we require in all of our endeavours.
Why do we still need feminism?
There are also some other horrifying statistics you should be made aware of on International Women’s Day. We’re sharing these ones with you as a nudge to get you to think about how much we still need feminism. If you’re ever in doubt about that, then keep looking at these statistics. It’s impossible to forget the importance of the movement and a day like today once you’ve seen them.
— 46% of women killed in 2017 by men were killed by their ex or current partner.
— 76% of women killed in 2017 by men knew their killer.
— One in five women in England and Wales has experienced sexual assault of some form after reaching the age of 16.
— 49% of girls in the UK have missed a day of school because of their period.
— 15% of girls in the UK say they struggle to afford sanitary products; 10% say they cannot afford them at all.
We hope we taught you something this International Women’s Day. If we taught you anything, though, it should be that feminism is still needed desperately – there are literally women’s lives at stake.
Happy IWD!