2022-03-08

Time to achieve gender equality for real!

Zonta District 21 on International Women's Day - Time to achieve equality and all women's empowerment for real! 

On International Women's Day on March 8, we want to highlight the fifth of the UN's global goals, which aim to achieve equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.  

The Equality Authority writes:

"In Sweden, women and men must have the same power to shape society and their own lives. Equality work concerns issues of power, influence, finances, health, education, work and physical integrity."

A closer examination of these areas shows that there is more to do.

The more power and influence a person has in business, higher education, or any other organization, the more likely that person is a man. While the wage gap between men and women is decreasing, women's disposable income is still around 20 percent lower than men's.

The reasons are well known – women work part-time to a greater extent, are on parental leave longer than men, work in low-wage occupations and have higher sickness absence rates. This means that the pension is also lower for women.

The Equality Authority writes:

"Men's violence against women can be seen as the ultimate consequence of an unequal society. In addition to the suffering for the victim, the violence also affects relatives and great costs for society. It is important to work to prevent violence and detect violence early in order to provide protection and support."

A change requires commitment and development work in which both men and women participate.

Zonta works persistently for women's and girls' health, education and finances, locally and around the world. An ambitious goal requires many more to stand up for Sweden's women and girls - get involved!