Did you wish someone Happy Women’s Day this week? – 03/10/2023 – Marina Izidro

It’s close to lunchtime on a sunny day in London. It’s cold so I sit inside the restaurant. The table is in front of the glass facade and I see that on the porch there are two women with strollers and dogs. Minutes later, two more arrive, each with a cart and a dog. They try to drink coffee while one puts the child to sleep and another gives the child a mashed banana. Beside me, concentrating, a man types on his laptop.

In my utopian thinking, I try not to stereotype and believe that they are executives and not just talking about their kids, but also about their amazing careers and that man might be making the grocery list, why not? But, knowing the reality, it is unlikely that this is the case. In the UK, it is very expensive to have a nanny and the public child care service is considered insufficient. They are the ones who pay the price, moving away from the labor market.

I always had a good example at home, with a mother who showed me that work and dedication generate independence and increase the value of my achievements. I never quite know how to feel when International Women’s Day arrives. I hesitate if I should write about the subject and be accused of being boring, weak or even defending ideas with which I do not agree.

But if the day was created in the name of a fight for rights, it exists because we still need to talk about inequality. And since I see that cafe scene repeated so many times, I decide yes. This is not an accusatory column, quite the contrary. It is a way of reaching out to men and asking for help. We need you.

Did you wish someone Happy Women’s Day this week? If so, know that we love kind words and I know that the intention was good, but what we really need is action. And one thing doesn’t exclude the other, you know?

Could it be that the same people who sent messages to women on the 8th of March give their employees salaries and opportunities equal to those of men in the same function, put them in leadership positions, value those who return from maternity leave, repudiate sexist speeches in the WhatsApp group of friends, share household chores with their partners without them having to ask?

Speaking of sport, we are still the ones who need to throw open doors that are closed in our faces. Thanks to the struggle of the athletes over the years, some victories have come, demystifying topics such as pregnancy and menstruation.

The 2024 Paris Olympics will see the same number of men and women competing for the first time, with the Modern Era games starting in 1896.

The elite of English women’s football only started paying maternity leave with 100% of salary this season. West Brom players started wearing navy shorts instead of white because they were uncomfortable when menstruating. Men who work with sports are not obliged to know this, but they may be interested in asking and listening.

Football federations from Australia and New Zealand, hosts of the next Women’s World Cup, and stars like Alex Morgan are asking FIFA not to let Saudi Arabia –which has no respect for women’s rights– sponsor the tournament, something that has not been confirmed , but seen as possible.

Sportswashing buys a lot, but maybe not everything.

We don’t want to keep talking to ourselves. In a more egalitarian society, everyone wins.

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