Why International Women’s Day Still Matters

Mar. 8

When I was at University, my dad began giving flowers to the women in his family on International Women’s Day. If you know me well, you know that my dad was my first and biggest cheerleader and believed that I - along with my female peers - should be seen.

The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines the rights of all humans to be:

The right to live a life free from violence and slavery
The right to be educated
The right to earn a fair and equal wage
The right to own property
The right to free expression
Voting rights

As an incredibly optimistic young adult woman, I didn’t realize that I didn’t yet have these rights. Honestly, I assumed I belonged, and I deserved equity of opportunity and basic human rights - simply because I was created in God’s image.

But I quickly learned that not everyone held these same assumptions.

The earliest reported Women’s Day observance was held in 1909 in New York City. Over 100 years later, does it still matter? Surely enough has changed in over a century. Don’t women get all the opportunities, access and rights they need?

As a female business leader serving a predominantly male-led non-profit sector, I quickly learned that I’d have to show up and be the only woman in the room. Over and over again.

And I learned, painfully, that showing up didn’t mean I belonged or had the same access to opportunities. One particular experience still makes my heart ache and my blood pressure rise. I showed up for a Christian business owners’ luncheon. I’d ordered a ticket and assumed that I was welcome. While waiting to register at the welcome table, an older man and his son about my age walked in front of me and proceeded to register - effectively pushing me out of their way. I remember saying, “I was standing here,” quite bewildered. The older man turned around, looked at me, and said, “I thought you were just loitering.”

In other words;

I was not valid.

I was not equal.

I was not seen.

I was the only woman in a room of approximately 100 business owners. And one of the few under 40. The event speaker assumed that none of the business owners in the room were bringing their whole selves to their work - leaving their faith and beliefs at the door. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever known a woman entrepreneur who could do that effectively.

I cried hot, angry tears of frustration the whole way home that day. Why? Because I found out the hard way that even though I was qualified, educated and skilled, I wasn’t welcome as a woman.

That happened over a decade ago, and while things have certainly changed, they haven’t changed that much. Equity has not truly been embraced yet. How do I know?

This year, I was invited to attend another Christian business owners and leaders event. After reviewing the event materials, I learned it was entirely hosted by men, with only male speakers - not even one woman was listed as an endorser. And in my experience, I’d be all alone in the margins of the event once again. The inequity showed me that, as a woman business owner, I’m still not seen or considered. How am I still “just loitering” after almost 15 years of hard work?

Needless to say, I didn’t end up registering.

I know. I probably should have - even just to challenge the status quo and show up.

So, why should we still care about International Women’s Day? Because God cares about inequity. He is the God who sees women, in particular. He’s the one who opened the door for me to step into this work. And, He is committed to righting wrongs and undoing injustice. In my experience, He’d never have pushed me aside, assuming I was loitering but would have made room at the table for me. So I keep showing up in places where women may not have been welcomed or expected (like marketing and ad agencies, it turns out - with only 1% of North American agencies owned and directed by women.)

We care because injustice still exists. The words that have guided me since launching Graf-Martin in the Fall of 2008 are found in Isaiah 61.

They’ve led us to three core focus areas for applying our expertise and work: hope, generosity, and justice.

Why? Because they focus our efforts - Marketing for Good - on what God cares about. My faith, reflected in these verses, tells me that it matters that girls and women experience freedom and the same human rights the United Nations outlines. These words challenge me to consider how I treat myself, the women I work alongside and mentor, and who and how I lead. These words also give me hope, knowing that by actively showing up, wrongs are being made right, and the women who follow me - including my daughter - will have more opportunities to be seen.

Being a business owner is tough. Being a female business owner and leader in a male-dominated space is even tougher. But I’ll keep showing up - not just loitering - because the end goal of pursuing and embracing equity for women is hope for a much different future.