Go figure

For many years I was only vaguely aware of International Women’s Day. The vaguest of vaguely. It was at an annual meeting of the provincial assembly of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation when I first met some remarkable women and heard them speak of the social, economic and political issues and achievements of women.

The high school I attended taught us women didn’t need or deserve respect or appreciation for their achievements. We were more or less told we sent out “the wrong message” by the way we dressed, and deserved to be disrespected. Speaking our minds or having an opinion was akin to mortal sin. As students women were told to be secretaries, air hostesses, nurses, sales clerks, line workers in factories, servers in a restaurants or elementary school teachers. The message was “a woman knowingly jeopardized her chances of finding a man” if she takes a man’s job. Television ads had us dreaming of that handsome fella as we rode elephants in our Maidenform bras. We were thrilled to have a brand new vacuum cleaner for a birthday gift.

I wouldn’t say I had a traumatic, anti-female upbringing, it’s just the way it was in the ‘50s and ‘60s. But I just didn’t understand what I felt about it or what I heard in advertising. In my home and, eventually, in my workplace, it made me uncomfortable to think outside of the pretty-girly package. In the 1960s as a young adult woman, new to the workaday world, I didn’t like being paid less than a man for the same work. I didn’t like being told I didn’t get a promotion because I was a woman who might get married, have children and decide to stay at home. Or worse, get married, have children and decide to go back to work, then take endless days off because of a sick child or commitments at home. As a woman I wasn’t seen as a good training investment even though I was often called upon to train new staff, many of whom were men. Essentially, I trained men to be my boss. Of course, if you know me, and many of you do, you would know I didn’t like my employer’s “dress code” for women and not for men. And, I really, really didn’t like attending a meeting and being asked to “fetch the coffee” because I was the youngest supervisor at the boardroom table and a woman. For some reason the coffee fetching ticked me off the most. Things have changed. Go figure.

Over the years I learned the serious consequence for breaching the dress code at work was non-existent unless raised eyebrows and hushed whispers from the men in the office were consequences. When I gently suggested I’d be happy to take my turn at “coffee fetching,” my bravado was met with a nod of approval from the vicepresident, the man who usually looked my way whenever coffee was an item on the meeting agenda. And insisting I was worthy of investing in, as regards training and education, paid off for the employer and for me, in the long run. Two years of mainframe computer programming courses were paid for by the employer and I was one of the first Canadian team graduates. When I became pregnant, it wasn’t the employer who insisted I had to leave the workplace more than two months before the baby was born; it was the federal government whose unemployment maternity benefits program made it impossible to collect a full 15 weeks of insurance benefits unless I left when I was told to leave. I filed a formal complaint with the federal government and was told, in a letter, that women needed at least two months before the baby was due because of their so-called documented emotional and physical concerns. Things have changed. Go figure.

This year, International Women’s Day will be celebrated around the world on March 8. It’s a celebration of women. Every woman has overcome a hurdle and has an experience to share. Women’s Day isn’t a threat to men or their masculinity. The United Nations’ theme for 2013 is “a promise is a promise: time for action to end violence against women.” In Prince Edward County a great group of dedicated, caring women have organized “a celebration of women’s voices” to take place on March 8 at Prince Edward Collegiate starting at 6 p.m. You know there’s going to be entertainment— it is a celebration, after all. Hear about Puppets without Borders and don’t be afraid to make a donation to this artistic cause. Krista Dalby and Suzanne Larner are planning another creative mission to Ghana and could use your financial assistance. The world is a better place when art is an inclusive pursuit. “Without art there is no culture.” Admission to the celebration is free, so put on your dancing shoes, bring your spare change and maybe a non-perishable or two for our local food bank. Don’t forget your dancing shoes. Yup, things have changed. I figure.

theresa@wellingtontimes.ca