Women '200 years away from being equal,’ report says (6 photos)

Approximately 270 people attended an International Women’s Day event held by Women In Crisis, with the theme ‘Push for Progress!’ held at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre early Thursday afternoon.

“Today’s event is to celebrate women all over the world, to acknowledge all of the accomplishments we’ve made from the beginning of time right up to 2018, but to also acknowledge how much work still needs to be done” said Sarah Paciocco, a Women In Crisis sexual assault and abuse crisis counsellor, speaking to SooToday.

“We’re over 200 years away from having equalization of men and women according to the World Economic Forum’s 2017 Global Gender Gap report, so that’s why our theme is #PressforProgress.”

“We need parity in terms of equal pay for men and women, we’re still not they’re yet, we need all of the same rights for men and women, and women having the same opportunities as men in the labour force.”

Paciocco referred to the need for parity mentioned in a speech by keynote speaker Dr. Patricia Zehr, in which it was stated only one of the top 100 CEO’s across the world is a woman.

“This event is global,” Paciocco said.

“There are certain countries around the world where women still aren’t allowed to have a drivers licence, countries where women aren’t allowed to refuse a marriage without the consequence being death, so there’s a lot of work to be done globally.”

“Right now in the world there are places where women have to ask permission to go to the grocery store, they may have to have an escort with them such as a male family member, they have to wear certain garments…we still don’t have 100 per cent freedom and rights in the world compared to men,” said Kayla Farrell, who along with Paciocco, is a Women In Crisis sexual assault and abuse crisis counsellor.

“We’re moving forward in Canada but there are still huge wage gaps for men and women doing the exact same job. That’s a very big issue,” Paciocco said.

“We’re starting to see gains happening around the world every day and that’s the message we’re bringing here today is to keep that momentum going and break down that 200 year mark and see if in our lifetime if these changes happen. We have to push it forward,” Paciocco said.

Paciocco said her own co-workers at Women in Crisis are her best female role models, while Farrell pointed to Rosa Parks (‘the first lady of civil rights’) and Kathrine Switzer (the first woman to run the Boston Marathon in the face of opposition) as historical trailblazers for women who she especially admires.

Despite the serious issues facing women around the world, Farrell said “today we left domestic violence out of the picture. We wanted to make sure the focus was on celebrating, and celebrating women.” 

Thursday’s gathering included lunch provided by Grand Gardens North, musical performances and dances by various artists, keynote speaker Dr. Zehr, a fun photo booth in which participants had their photos taken in various hats, and a march twice around the Bushplane Museum by women carrying flags of many nations as a show of support for women’s rights around the globe.