Celebrating International Women’s Day

Statement for International Women’s Day 2021

by Danielle Samler, Emma Locker, and Sumeyye Arpaci

Today, we mark International Women’s Day 2021, a day where we reflect on the power of women all over the world and pay respect to those who have paved the way before us, particularly those who have lost their lives as a consequence of injustice. We take time to reflect on the great advances made in achieving gender equality but also recognise that the fight for equality is far from over. Inequality has become increasingly evident over the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Women make up 70% of healthcare workers worldwide. Moreover, women on average spend more time on unpaid care and domestic work. The COVID-19 pandemic forcing people inside and closing schools has meant that women have been forced to shoulder additional household and caregiver responsibilities while many of them still have to work to generate income. We have also seen young girls and women without access to education, soaring levels of domestic violence and, as a consequence of existing gender inequalities, the disproportionate impact of economic fallout on women. 

The theme for IWD 2021 is #ChoosetoChallenge, which recognises that in order to create real change, we must first embrace the power of women, raise awareness against bias and promote gender equality. Through the ‘Reverse the Trend’ initiative, we choose to challenge the patriarchal systems and discourse in place that perpetuate gender inequality such as the gendered discourse surrounding nuclear weapons and the military industrial complex. 

Nuclear weapons disproportionately harm women and girls. For example, an ICAN briefing paper from 2020 notes that girls are more likely than boys to develop thyroid cancer as a result of nuclear fallout. Moreover, pregnant women exposed to nuclear radiation face an increased probability of delivering children with physical malformations and stillbirths. This increases the likelihood of maternal mortality. Despite the disproportionate effects nuclear weapons have on women and girls, women are still largely excluded from nuclear policy negotiations and peace talks. 

For this reason, at Reverse the Trend, we also #ChoosetoChallenge the lack of female representation in policy settings. Women make up half the population and therefore must have a proportionate role in developing policies that will affect them. While the international community has made great strides in advancing women’s equal participation in leadership and policy roles, many gaps still remain. 

There is hope as women all around the world have been making tremendous progress. In the U.S, Kamala Harris broke a number of barriers by becoming the first woman and the first person of color to be elected as Vice President. She is amongst the numerous women who have challenged policy settings in becoming a prominent figure to women as well as to men.

On this important day, we take the opportunity to remind women that their presence and political participation matters, whether it is within the family home, the international policy forum, or anywhere in between, for without their engagement, sustainable peace cannot be achieved. 

We are fully committed to ensuring that the Women, Peace and Security Agenda is fully and effectively realized and implemented by governments. Fully effectuating the Women, Peace and Security Agenda is not only the right thing to do to advance gender equality, but it is necessary to achieve peace and ensure a better, more fair, equitable, and safe future for generations to come.