Nika Jazaee points out why there is still a need for International Women’s Day – today!
Today is International Women’s Day. While millions of people across the world are celebrating women and our struggle for equality, some are questioning why we still need a special day for women in 2016. Here are five reasons why we still do:
(1) Female employment in the UK creative industry remains low – and it’s getting lower, having fallen from 37.1% in 2013 to 36.7% in 2014.
(2) In 2015 there were 191 female MPs in the House of Commons compared to 459 male MPs.
(3) Men working full time typically earn nearly £100 a week more than women. In April 2015 the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings showed average earnings of £567 per week for men, compared to £471 per week for women.
(4) A third of Britons believe that women are partly or completely culpable if they behave flirtatiously before being raped, according to a new study by Amnesty International.
(5) Six out of 10 women believe that their careers were derailed or that they were denied opportunities after they became pregnant, according to a survey by the law firm Slater & Gordon.
In this context London’s Southbank Centre is putting on two days of celebration and debate about women around the world.
The Women of the World festival runs from 8 – 10 March wow.southbankcentre.co.uk