International Women’s Day (Vancouver and woldwide) is March 8th, 2012

I will fully confess that, despite being one of six males in my family (5 brothers and my Dad), I never thought about issues of gender until I was in graduate school in Canada. I grew up in a household where my Mom and Dad were equals. Where each and every single decision they made for me and my brothers was based on consensus. Where there was never a doubt: women were equally capable of doing anything that men do. My Aunts, Grandmothers, sisters-in-law and some of my best friends (all women), are all amazing in-and-of-their-own, and thus I always still scratch my head when I hear or read about glass ceilings. Simply because I’ve never discriminated someone (much less on the basis of their gender). I do take a proactive approach to encourage my female students to flourish and thrive, and I do the same with my queer students, but I think it’s mostly because I know they have the potential and I want them to achieve it to their fullest. I have a profound admiration for the role of women in this world.

March 8th marks the celebration of International Women’s Day and it will be celebrated, amongst other cities, of course in Vancouver. You should attend this event, even if it’s specific to the arts, because it’s one of several celebrations, organized and promoted by the City of Vancouver:

Thursday, March 8, 2012 from 6 to 8 pm
(An event to honour local women in the arts from the Remarkable Women poster series)
Creekside Community Recreation Centre 1 Athletes Way, Vancouver

International Women’s Day is commemorated annually on March 8 by the United Nations. It’s a day observed around the world, when all people come together to recognize and celebrate the achievements of women’s long struggle for equality, justice, peace and development. It’s an occasion for women and girls to unite and identify the collective goals that will become the benchmarks for our advancement in the future.

In 1910, an International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin, Leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, tabled the idea of an International Women’s Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women’s clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin’s suggestion with unanimous approval and International Women’s Day was the result.

This year, 2012, is the 101st Anniversary of the first celebration of International Women’s Day.

I won’t be able to attend, but I’ll definitely be celebrating the most important woman in my life: My Mom. Someone who has made of me much of who I am. And to all the women in my life, who are amazing, thank you for what you do to make this world better .

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