Nadine Spencer

Break The Bias Relationships

The world has a lot of holidays and “official days”. In fact, recently it seems like practically every day of the year is the official day of something—World Tuberculosis Day, World Bee Day, International Women’s Day, International Pancake Day, etc. While I’m sure that every day has its enthusiasts, I think most of us can agree that some of these days are more important than others. I love pancakes as much as the next person, but I’d like to think that a day acknowledging the struggles and oppression—as well as the triumphs and achievements—of half of the world’s population is more pressing than celebrating stacks of carbs with maple syrup on top.

The danger, of course, is that International Women’s Day could easily get lost in the noise generated by a calendar full of official “days.” This is why it is so important that we use this opportunity to speak to real, pressing issues facing women and society. We need to remind the world that equality, diversity, and inclusion are daily values that need to be supported, not something that receives lip service once per year in early February. As recent global events have shown us, inequality and injustice are magnified during crises, and are sometimes even the cause of them. For the sake of society at large, we must continue to work toward equality for all people. Obviously that work takes on many different faces—racial equality, gender equality, the fight against ageism, the fight for religious freedom and tolerance, etc. Today we focus on equality for women—arguably the largest group of disenfranchised people in the world. If we can’t inspire progress in this fight, I fail to see how we are going to engender justice and support for anyone else.