International Women’s Day encourages us all to celebrate success and to continue to campaign for changes required to achieve women’s equality in a patriarchal world.
The theme of 2023 International Women’s Day is #EmbracingEquity.
In wanting women and girls to have the same opportunities to achieve their goals it’s important to recognise that not everyone is starting at the same place. In terms of both access to resources and indeed the structural barriers which make progress challenging these are experienced differently by different women and girls depending on a number of factors.
Equity recognises this and allows for individuals to be allocated the correct set of resources and opportunities to make sure that everyone has the appropriate tools to reach the same, equal outcome.
This approach feels perfectly logical but in times where resources are tight is not a simple thing to for policy makers and those in charge of public funds to deliver.
If we are truly serious about equality, then #embracingequity sends a challenge to us all. And we can all take action within our own sphere of influence.
We can reject stereotypes,
We can call out discrimination and bias
and
We can push be fearless in our encouragement, acceptance and promotion of diversity and inclusion for all women and girls.
Ruth Maguire MSP 