International Women's Day: inequality persists
On International Women's Day Europe's press reflects on inequalities between women and men, from pay gaps to forced marriages in some countries. The role of women in establishing a global peacekeeping balance and in developing more sustainable and equitable forms of economic activity is also stressed.
For the women of Ukraine
We have decided to dedicate this March 8 to the women of Ukraine, La Stampa announces:
“We dedicate it to those who are fleeing and those who remain. Because since time immemorial, women have fought and continue to fight in all the wars triggered by the crazy talk, errors and underestimations of men: they protect those who cannot care for themselves on their own, they learn to take up arms when they have to, and they suffer all the horror of the world. Would things have been different if women had been responsible for the global equilibrium of the last century? We have no way of knowing.”
More sustainability through equal rights
Everyone benefits from women being equally represented on management boards and committees, writes the Kleine Zeitung:
“The participation of women in global trade increases a nation's resilience and innovative power. ... When women are represented at management level in the economy this leads to higher profits, lower risks and less environmental damage. The best economic results can be achieved when men and women work together as equals. Couples who share housework and work have a closer bond with their children and higher productivity. Globally, the goal must be to exit permanent growth and develop more sustainable and equitable ways of doing business and living for everyone.”
Women can also be greedy and power-hungry
Beyond the yearly laments about the pay gap between men and women, there should also be an end to cliches about unfeminine behaviour, the Süddeutsche Zeitung argues:
“The idea should finally be established that women can also be greedy and power-hungry, violent and merciless. This applies to everyone: to those who decide who is to be promoted and to women who reflect on the extent of their professional ambition. That it is not insolent or unfeminine to aggressively demand more money should be a given in 2022. Becoming aware that you may have internalised a different view on this is the first step to overcoming such patterns.”
They have tasted freedom
The well-known column Güzin Abla - or elder sister Güzin - has been offering Hürriyet readers advice on personal matters for many years. Many women share similar concerns, columnist Fezya Algan writes:
“I think most women who write to me have not yet achieved complete freedom in their lives. ... But despite all that, they have tasted freedom and can imagine rebelling. They no longer want to bow to their fathers or husbands. Unfortunately, I have to say that the children of many families are still driven into forced marriages by their parents, even with relatives; they are afraid of flirting. ... Here the fear of the family is ever-present. Can we speak of 'women's rights' as long as such women exist?”