Women Embrace Equity

Women from all around the world were striving for hundreds of years to have equal rights with men. In society, at work, in sports, in culture, and in taking care of the loved ones, women were forbidden to participate or had a preordained role. Changes were achieved by marching boldly in public, boycotting and disobeying unjust rules, demanding changes even if they risked their lives or to be harmed. They struggled in all imaginable ways to obtain rights that were considered a given only for men. The present generation of women should be aware that civil rights, freedom of speech, to vote, to work, to have their own money, to inherit fortunes from their relatives were, all, obtained by resilient women who did not give up.

This year, the International Women's Day 2023 (IWD) media campaign theme is #Embrace Equity.

Searching for the exact definition of what Equity stands for we find out that: “Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men”. Although the concept is generous and addresses women and men alike, humanity did not reach that moment yet. Women are still discriminated against and the need to stand united to earn equal rights with men is as critical as ever. Surprisingly, the representation of the encouragement to “embrace” shows a disturbing image in media campaigns. Numerous pictures shared in all social media under the motto #Embrace Equity present countless women who are embracing themselves! Did women isolate themselves from men, from children and the world? Did they get so absorbed by their struggles to obtain equal rights and treatment that they forgot even about other women? Social media shows that self embracing has spread even in pictures with men supporting the concept of equal rights.

I wonder if self-embracing, accepting our own identity and uniqueness, could lead to generous openness and fair acceptance of the others. If the message of the motto of this year’s campaign is debatable in its clarity and efficiency, the 4 calls are clear: remove all barriers to access the digital world; educate and train women in STEM; enable women to create tech that meets their needs; eliminate online gender-based violence.

On the 8th of March, at the UN headquarter, the topic of innovation and technology for gender equality took the floor. On this occasion, the president of the 77th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Csaba Kőrösi said: “By 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to science, technology, engineering and STEM. Yet, today, women make up merely one-third of the workforce in the 20 largest global technology companies. Only 57% of women use the internet. These facts speak to the challenges before us. They also speak about the massive opportunities offered by innovation and technology to rapidly transform the narrative for women and girls by 2050.”

In a debate organized by the UN on the occasion of IWD, broadcaster and writer, National Goodwill Ambassador for Mexico, Marion Reimers said that even if women do have access to technology and the digital world, online gender-based violence is frighteningly frequent. “When you take into account that 75% of women journalists have been victims of online harassment, this is directly intertwined with how we speak about problems in the public sphere, with how democracies are understood, with how the voices of women are being taken into account,” said Marion Reimers who continued: “So, if there is a big impossibility for us to access technology, just for the fact that we are women, ones we are there we are harassed. And once we access the public sphere, because we are journalists, we are once again, harassed. So this is a triple problem and we need to understand that this taps directly into the freedom of speech”.

Marion Reimers is just one of the too many cases of harassment. She confessed that she pulled through the most difficult times having the support of her family and loved ones. Sharing personal stories seems to be as important as using the digital world. Such an occasion, for example, is offered next Wednesday, on the 29th of March, on LinkedIn, by Datamir. On the occasion of the annual #WomensHistoryMonth panel, the organizers invite us to participate and take 'A Seat With Us: Women Who Tell Their Stories,' to learn about our guests' career journeys and how they empower and create opportunities for other women. This is the link for registering: http://ow.ly/jx2f50NlEeu

In the end, for all those who want to endorse the Equity 2030 call for action, United Nations Population Fund is dedicated, as it states on its official page,,to normalising gender equity in science and technology” using the digital world to “accelerate transformative norms and principles, introduces data-driven arguments and strategies for closing the gaps in women-focused and gender-inclusive solutions in science, technology, and financing by 2030”. It is highly the time for people all around the world to think that we could be 8 billion embraces and as many fulfilled hopes and dreams.

Edited By: Kyenila Taylor

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