International Women's Day: how can we make the world more equal?

[RowanMumsnet]

Hello campers,

As lots of you will already know, Tuesday March 8 is International Women's Day. MNHQ has been working with the EQUALS coalition this year, and they've asked us to ask you to suggest small ways in which you think we could all work to make men and women more equal, whether locally, nationally or globally.

Examples would be: go and support your local woman's football team; write to a television station to ask why women presenters are 20 years younger than their male counterparts; or make a donation to an organisation that supports women in developing countries. (If you're feeling extrovert, you could also consider organising an EQUALS soul train in your area this coming Friday.)

Your contributions might end up on the EQUALS blog.

Thanks,

MNHQ x

When childcare is free and universal.

Oh, yes, when women are on MN being questioned because they are PM, rather than married to one and having done charidee work (really not meant as a dig, just a statement that status all too often comes through a man rather than in one's own right, even now).

when we don't need an International Women's Day

As a man, I would like:

1. The choice to use a title that denotes I am married, in a similar fashion that women can use Ms/Mrs/Miss, rather than just plain old Mr;

2. The choice to stay at home for a year to look after a baby if my wife goes back to work 2 weeks after giving birth;

3. The ability to apply for a passport for my child without having to prove I have parental responsibilty, unlike a female parent who automatically has parental responsibility;

4. I would like the NHS to invite me to pre and post natal classes, as well as my child's other parent;

5. I would like to get regular visits or checkups to the GP like women do, so that I can get to know how the system works so that when I get ill I know what to do;

6. It would be nice to have acknowldged that men and women in their 30's tend to earn the same as each other, and women in their 20's earn more than men, so that the gender pay gap has been reversed once everyone over 40 retires;

7. I want it to be socially acceptable for a man to have a choice to be a house husband or work, same as it is socially acceptable for a woman to;

8. Traditionally female occupations should have gender-neutral job titles - nursing needs to get rid of the job title 'Sister' - like male orientated occupations have done - firefighters instead of firemen, Women Police Constables no longer exist etc;

9. In order for there to be equality, women need to understand that as well as women trying to emulate men, men need to become more feminine and do some housework.

Oh, and the option for men to take the woman's surname when they get married...

prob already been said, but by ensuring that legislation is passed giving both men and women equal maternity/paternity leave.

Carriedababy and SallyBrownEyes you shall go to the ball become Dr.s!

You can do it, if you really want to. You really can, I am living proof. I have a mixed heritage background as well as being a young girl/old bag woman and I have got a doctorate. For a while I wondered if they had let me have it because they were sorry for me - truth! but then I realised I must be quite clever after all.

SurreyDad you are on the nail. When we can choose what we would like to do, and balance fulfilling work with lovely time with our kids, instead of most of us running around like bluebottles either juggling job-and-child or bored at home or working too hard to spend time with family or people thinking we are weird because we want to spend time with the DC, even though we are men or ought to be high achieving in our careers so as not to let the sisters down or ought to prioritise an overseas trip or training event which just happens to be at the weekend, blah blah, then we might be there.

PS Do we women get regular check-ups at the GPs?

when female sigers do not have to gyrate almost naked against a man or sing about how they love sex whilst fellating banannas.
when we will no longer walk into newsagents to be faced with a glamour model bent over with her crotch out at our childs eye level.

When us ladies teach our daughters and huband how to bleed the radiators - oh, I just did that yesterday! (smug emoticon!)

Surrey Dad - right on!!

I would like to know if any fathers out there have been asked if they are going to go back to work once the baby has been born?

surreydad, men can have those things if they want. It's men that make the rules and always have done.

Shit there is so much wrong with surreydad's post.

Another time, maybe...

When this sentence
"I was raped by eight men, and they kidnapped my five month old baby"
is not relegated to a teensy little footnote at the end of a random news article in the Guardian, when same paper has two page spreads on some irrevevant (male) sporting "hero"

when men stop using the term "equality" to get even more privilege for themselves than they already have if that is even possible

More men complain to the Equal Rights Commission than do women. It seem that a lot of white men feel that they are discriminated against on a daily basis

see surreydad's post for details

Of course, some people feel that it is only certain people that can be discriminated against - anyone who doesn't want to fit into the stereotype for their demographic make-up can be discriminated against.

Politixmum - if everyone had regular check-ups, then they would know how the health service worked. Women get smear tests / take kids to the GP ,so they know how the system works, and know the staff. The first men know how to use the NHS is when they collapse with a heart attck. The NHS is hostile towards men.

surreydad, are you seriously implying that men are discriminated against because they're men

Oh and don't get me started on smear tests. Whoop-id-doo, women have been the target of gynelogical experiments for the past 200 years. Hurrah!

I have just finished reading about the house of horrors of the patriarchal medical system and its treatment of women, the torture it has meted out onto women in the name of "research" or "healthy" frequently without the women's consent.

It continues today. It was not a coincidence that Harold Shipman was a man and the hundred or so of his murder victims were women. Or that the introduction of smear tests have not decreased the incidences of cancer. Or that a hysterectomy carries more risk of death than cancer??? But that doesn't stop them whipping women's uteruses out, does it. Or the way women are treated in labour: often like pieces of meat resulting in birth trauma and PND. The unecessarily pills, HRT for menopausal women which can cause cancer, but who cares as long as it cures women of menopause

And these are some of the "lighter" subjects.

All meted out onto women by men

The NHS or medical system is hostile to men?

ROFLMAO

in the name of "research" or "health"

Treating healthy women for the disease of womanhood seems to be a key feature in the medical system

when a 22 year old male doesn't have "Its international bitches day" as his Facebook status.

sakura - I'm not saying women aren't discriminated against - what I'm saying is they don't have a monopoly on it. And the opinion seems to be that women want what men have - which almost admits that men are superior - rather than trying to get men to want what women have!

women want what men have - which almost admits that men are superior

That doesn't follow. Wanting what someone has only admits that they have something desirable. Having privilege doesn't connote superiority.

I'll go along with a lot of what SurreyDad said.

The more fathers are involved with the raising of their children the better.
We need more SAHDs and more men doing flexible working to help towards equality.

I do flexible working and have worked part time and it's been brilliant.

I still think people are wary of changing the status quo. Dads can and want to more involved.