Growing up, March 8th meant congratulating my grandma for being a rock star, stuffing my face with a box of Ferrero Rocher chocolates from my grandpa, and arranging bouquets of flowers in vases. Today, as a college senior and proud Falconette, International Women’s Day means a lot more than a sugar coma and flowers.
The 2016 IWD campaign is celebrating International Women’s Day by acknowledging the achievements of women and Pledging for Parity. The alarming truth is that the progress towards women equality in status and pay is slowing down. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report of 2015, we might have to wait until 2133 for the gender wage gap to close. I’m too impatient to wait for my Netflix show to buffer for a few seconds, so this seems like a bit much.
The world is noticing this lack of equality. This month EquiTable will be available for download. EquiTable is an app that pokes fun at how unfair it is for two individuals sitting at the same table to be treated differently. The app is designed for splitting bills when out to eat with friends. But there is a catch, the bill is split based on gender and race using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This puts a lot in perspective. I do not believe it is fair for me to pay less for a meal than my guy friend because of my gender. “It’s funny because it’s real” says EquiTable’s website in big, orange letters.
IWD’s #PledgeforParity campaign allows anyone (me, you, your roommate, your boyfriend) to pledge to work towards achieving gender parity actually in this century. You can pledge to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible cultures or root out workplace bias.
As Bentley University students going out into the corporate world we are about to become pretty influential. By extending the respect we show our fellow students every day at Bentley to our professional lives we will be playing our part. Powerful leaders admired by Bentley falcons, such as Ernst & Young’s Global Chairman and CEO Mark A. Weinberger, have pledged. Will you?
Cover photo: https://56.media.tumblr.com/2466e28be98933dd187b2aeceac84613/tumblr_o3q2ikj3rG1v9yxryo1_500.png
Wonderwomen: https://www.etsy.com/listing/151869452/we-are-all-wonderwomen-11×17-print