#BalanceforBetter

BY RIMA 7V

International Women’s Day is a universal day celebrating the achievements and successes of women while accelerating gender balance. This ties in well with the 2019 theme which is #BalanceforBetter as the official website states “a balanced world is a better world’.

Schools also continue to raise awareness for gender balance. Alperton Community School are having special assemblies, as they do every year. As a school community they believe that whilst some steps to move forward have been taken, International Women's Day is still necessary since there are still many places where women are disadvantaged due to their gender and they are limited because of this.

Jennifer, a student at Alperton Community School, said “I think it recognises women’s strength and what they have achieved in the past, so I believe it's good to have International Women's Day”.

MP Thangam Debbonaire told BBC news that “International Women's Day is a sign we have not yet achieved gender equality and an opportunity to look at how far we have come, celebrate our achievements and plan for future success".

Women have been treated differently in society and the three necessities thought by stereotypes are to cook, clean and take care of the children. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, over the past 40 years, the UK has seen an almost constant rise in the proportion of women in employment. The employment rate of women aged 24-25 is up from 57% in 1975 to a record high of 78% in 2017.The drastic rise can be considered to be due to women choosing to put their career and education before having a child, whereas before women were shamed for not having children and were almost pressured. This still happens today, but as women come together to combat this it is easier to not adhere to everything society expects of you because of your gender.

International Women’s Day is annually acknowledged on 8^th March and first occurred 1911. At Alperton Community School we will continue to recognise the contributions and successes of women on this day and every day. Look out for the digital displays which will showcase women who have achieved well in particular subject areas.