International Women's day

Yesterday was International Women's Day as you may already know thanks to the the floods of 'inspiring' quotes on both Facebook and Twitter. Described as a 'celebration of women's economic, political and social achievements', this historical event is one that continues to capture our imaginations. I don't want to be one to follow the crowd so to speak, but if there was ever a 'right' time to write a post, it is now, on this hugely uplifting and widely recognised day. 

Women and power. They go together hand in hand. Or so they should. The struggle for women is still evident today, and this is a struggle we feel on a global scale. From those suffering in third world counties at the hands of domineering and destructive men, to the women in parliament who it appears are unfit to be pregnant and withhold a job. Even now, women are earning less than their male counterparts in various parts of the world statistics show. Gender equality. The gap is closing, but it is clearly still an issue. Yes, things have improved drastically from when our grandparents were alive, but it's not over yet...

So why is International  Women's Day important (the clue is in the title)?  It celebrates women in all shapes and forms. We can do anything. Housewives, mothers, career women - you name it. What we don't do so well is celebrate our achievements, and yet, there has been so many. Yesterday was a chance to do exactly that. Although different, all the paths mentioned just now are as worthwhile as one another. I for one wont be getting pregnant any time soon, but this isn't to say there is anything wrong with this. If a woman chooses to have a child at the age of twenty, so be it. We and we only are responsible for creating our own happiness. There is an incredible amount of pressure on women today to achieve, to go above and beyond what previous generations have done. The great thing is, we now have the resources to do so, university being at the forefront of my mind. 

So why not grab these opportunities with both hands? I know I am. But not all women think as I do, and this is where the conflict lies I believe. Nowadays we appear to be competing, rather than enlightening one another, and until this comes to an end, the struggle will be ongoing. No woman is identical so why should we fit into just one category? Yes, there has been a shift from the stereotypical housewife days, but now there appears to be a huge gap between these sorts of women and women in power so to speak. What happens to those in between?

Women and discrimination is still an issue. I have experienced this first hand. The other night being a prime example. One rather drunken male decided to make a rather derogatory comment about the colour of my hair. I laughed this off, but is this something we should be laughing about? It is comments like these that bring these issues to light, and yet, we are surrounded by this sort of behaviour on a daily basis. In the workplace, on public transport and even in the home. Take the new Delhi bus incident which has been dominating the news again just recently. It takes a strong woman to fight back, and that this victim certainly was. 

So here's to strong women, to those suffering, and all those in between...

How did you celebrate on this truly inspiring day? 

Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Bloglovin

The Empowerment Of Women | Females In The Workplace

Long gone are the days of the feminist movement, yet it still appears that women are being treated differently to men even today. Females in the work place are going to be my main focus in this post. How is it that women are still seen as incapable of rising to the top and having both brains and beauty I ask? One of my idols today has to be Karen Brady. This woman is not only strong minded, she oozes sex appeal (this is more than likely because of the fact that she takes no shit from men). She dominates an industry that is seen as all male and it takes a lot of balls for someone to go out and do that. I admire this a lot.

Going to numerous job interviews over the past couple of months where there has been an all male interviewing panel, I know too well how intimidating it can be for a woman to try and present herself in the work place. Yet one should not be judged on the way they dress or the fact that they may have young children at home. I think a lot of men today often feel intimidated by the female form. It's certainly much harder for women these days to present themselves in a positive light as they are challenging so many previous stereotypes including gaining more power in the work place and becoming much more open with their sexualities in particular. No longer is it seen as taboo for women to go out and socialise at a weekend, wear tight work attire and hold down a career that many men would be envious of. This is exactly what it stems down to, as the old saying goes; women are multi taskers. We can be both great mothers, career women and have the body of Orlando Bloom's latest bit of meat. Some may say we have it all but even I think that would be slightly sexist...

I love the idea of feeling empowered as I am sure many of you ladies reading this also do. Who doesn't enjoy being in control and calling the shots? It's much more than this though. Women in the workplace today add a whole new dimension to work ethics. New ideas, new company values and of course sex appeal. This is why the number of women putting their careers first these days is on the rise and seen as much more acceptable. Women want to feel important and what better way to feel important than by taking control outside of the home. Not only this, we see more and more women going into careers which were once thought of as being only fit for men as mentioned previously. Personally I don't have an interest in football or engineering, but I respect any female who wants to find her feet in such an industry. I have as much respect for these sorts of women as I do for those who are becoming CEO's of the latest billion dollar companies. These are the sorts of women who are changing previous stereotypes and this is exactly what we need to see more of.

I am a firm believer in the equality of the sexes and don't think women should be treated any differently, not in the work place, in regards to sexual exploration, freedom of speech or marriage. Women have as much right as men to explore their bodies, their hopes and fears and put their careers above everything else. Personally I don't have any women in my life who have inspired me to think in this way but coming from a pretty deprived area it was down to me really to push myself and that's exactly what I did. I wanted a better life and nobody or nothing was going to get in my way. This certainly isn't the case for all women however. It all depends on your upbringing which I am fully aware of. I know some women do not have a choice when it comes down to getting married at a young age but for those who live in the Western world and have no religious ties, why should they feel the need to be treated any differently to the male I ask? So if you are one of those who is reading this and thinking 'yes you're right Laura, I am going to pursue my dream job' then please do. You are entitled to be a little bit selfish and think about number one for a change. 

As this was only meant to be a short article I think I have rambled on for long enough! As always I encourage you at this point to get involved and share your thoughts on my articles but in this instance PLEASE don't hold back! I would love to get a discussion started on some of the ideas addressed in this post as this is a topic I feel very strongly about. 

Facebook - Twitter - Instagram - Bloglovin