Congratulations! It is March 8, the International Women’s Day (IWD). An annual celebration for more than 100 years! A day to celebrate women’s economic, political, and social achievements, but most important a day to raise our VOICES!
My role model and inspiration!
My mother in law, Turid Loewe, is a great woman (and a wonderful grand mother ;)) with a strong engagement. For the last 40 years, especially during the 70s and 80s, she has been on the barricades fighting for women’s rights. Thanks to her generation, we have one year parental leave, increased focused on violence against women, the abortion law, gender quotas in the board room and much more. Yeah for women like my dear mother in law! We have a lot to thank them for!
The fight is not over!
Look around in your life, at home, at work, in your country! The fight for women’s rights is also a fight for human rights. There are many important paroles this International Women’s Day. Here are some of the paroles from the March 8 Committee in Oslo:
- Feminism is boarderless! Protect fleeing women!
- Strengthen the equality law!
- The right to decide your own pregnancy!
- Kindergarten for everybody – also refugee children!
- Stop the porn culture!
- Enforce the sex purchase law!
- Stop violence against women!
- Equal pay and full-time jobs!
- Equality in the workplace!
Which parole makes your heart beat and is your most important?
My parole!
I started this International Women’s Day on the radio. At 6.30 am, I attended the national morning news at NRK radio (NRK news from 06.33). I have decided to speak up for the parole that has been and is affecting my life these days! Equality in the workplace!
Being a full-time working leader in the private sector and a twin mother is a tough combination. Daily I struggle to make priorities. Some days I see my dear boys too little, other days I leave work early. I strive to have a work-life balance over a period of time, not every day.
9 of 10 top executives in the private sector are men! My CEO here at Deloitte Norway Aase Aa. Lundgaard says it perfectly – The public sector has enough women! The private sector is missing out on crucial competence and half of the talents!
A research report from Institute for Social Research in Oslo states that women have a tendency to change their career path from the private to the public sector after having children. The gender inequality is increasing and the bidirectional workforce flow between the sectors is reduced.
- Equal pay for equal work! Norway is ranked #2 in the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report 2015. A good result you might think? Think twice! Women earned the same in 2015 as men did in 2006!
- Increase the men’s parental leave quota! The mens quota of the parental leave has recently between reduced from 14 to ten weeks. The result is that women are longer away from work, increasing the threshold to go back and the gender equality at home is reduced.
- Remove the cash-for-care subsidy! The subsidy (6000 NOK (€670) pr month) creates an extra threshold for women to go back to work. This is especially important for immigrant women, reducing the possibility for need integration.
- Subsidy help in the house! My experience is that it is the housework which kills us.
- Make it possibility to get kindergarten spots all around the year! We are a victim of this. We had to hire a private nanny. A costly solution, and not all families can afford this!
- Increase the parental leave for multiple parents! We have twins and we got five weeks extra (compared to parents having one child). It is a joke! All children deserves a pair of hands the first time. (Read my blog post about being a twin mother with newborns (Norwegian only)
Bottom line! It must be possible for mothers to pursue a career. This requires change, both at home, at work, in politics, in the laws and in the society’s expectations and actions!
Here’s to strong women!
May we know them.
May we be them.
May we raise them!
Happy women’s day, sisters! <3
Please, feel free to share my blog post in your social media! It would make me really happy!
Love from Cecilia :***