#BeBoldForChange this International Women's Day

“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others”, Rosa Parks.

This year we celebrate International Women’s Day with the hashtag #BeBoldForChange. This sparked my interest and encouraged me to think about all of the women in history that did something powerful for change – be it the Suffragettes, Mother Theresa, Rosa Parks, Marie Curie, to name a few. 

International Women’s Day doesn’t mean that all women get together, turn into feminists for the day and burn their underwear in protest; it simply is a day dedicated to women around the world, past and present, to celebrate achievements. 

We have come so far and a lot of people question “what more do you want?!”, but in actual fact, we still have a bit to go. An example of this is the gender pay gap. Last year, Morgan McKinley did research on this topic and found that “female professionals earn €12,500 a year less than their male counterparts” meaning that the “Irish gender pay gap stands at 20%”. In saying that, there are a lot more women in leadership positions now than ever before which is a lot to be proud of, so whilst the gender pay gap still survives, we are seeing vast improvements on the progression of women in the workplace… Now just to get that pay cheque balanced and all will be well!! 

Another example (and I’ll venture outside the workplace for this), is the various women's marches that have taken place around the globe. These are true examples of women being bold for change; Women from all over have gotten together to march for their beliefs and I do think this speaks volumes on how far we have come. Gone are the days when the only path women marched on was towards the judges in the Lovely Girls Competition!

So let’s all celebrate the day that’s in it, and continue what we’re doing to #BeBoldForChange; and don’t forget, this isn’t a one way street, we can’t forget about the men… We celebrate International Men’s Day in November with the hashtag #ListenForAChange!!!!