YESTERDAY, as usual, there were those who claimed to be mystified by the point of International Women's Day.
Like those who consider the term "feminist" outdated, perhaps it's a measure of success that some people can't even see just how much "a woman's place" has improved in the last century. But they are standing on the shoulders of women who had to fight loud and hard to pave the way for their daughters.
Fact is, equality remains an elusive goal, even here.
We still live in a society where women are valued for their beauty and sexuality. Little girls grow up in an environment where airbrushed and Botoxed "real housewives" are presented as reality. Boys and girls barely into their teens think it's normal to send sexed-up photos and messages to each other.
If we were truly equal, women would make up half of the elected officials and earn the same money as men for work of equal value. They don't. In fact, the B.C. Human Rights Coalition had more than 20 complaints last year about discrimination because of pregnancy or maternity leave.
Most people living in our underfunded public care facilities are women.
Internationally, women do most of the work, yet earn a fraction of the income that men do. Girls are often denied education and women are most adversely affected by lack of health care. In conflict zones, women and children are most likely to bear the brunt of assaults on civilians.
We may have come a long way, baby, but this is no time to rest on our laurels. There's still so much farther to go.
