“Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #EmbraceEquity.”
These are the words put forth to celebrate this year’s International Women’s Day. According to their website, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, raising awareness about discrimination, and taking action to drive gender parity. IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. Inclusion means all IWD action is valid. Marked annually on March 8th, IWD is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women’s achievements, educate and raise awareness for women’s equality, call for positive change advancing women, lobby for accelerated gender parity, and fundraise for female-focused charities.
IWD was started in 1911, and remains an important moment for working to advance women’s equality with the day belonging to everyone, everywhere. Groups can choose to mark IWD in whatever manner they deem most relevant, engaging, and impactful for their specific context, objectives, and audiences. Over 25 countries around the world recognize IWD as a national holiday. You can read more about IWD and its history here!
International Women’s Day 2023: Embrace Equity
#EmbraceEquity is the 2023 theme for IWD. This campaign theme seeks to get the world talking about why “equal opportunities are no longer enough” – and can in fact be exclusionary, rather than inclusive. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities, whereas equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. Equity-based solutions can be applied to many groups of people around the world. When it comes to women, specifically, equity-based solutions take into consideration the different circumstances that women might experience in life that male counterparts likely will not, yet still help them reach the same or similar end goal. Equality treats everyone the same in the beginning, whereas equity helps everyone finish the same.
“Equality is giving everyone a shoe. Equity is giving everyone a shoe that fits” ~Susan K. Gardner, Dean-College of Education, Oregon State University
Embrace Equity for Girls and Women in STEM
According to the UN, a significant gender gap has persisted throughout the years at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines all over the world. Even though women have made tremendous progress towards increasing their participation in higher education, they are still under-represented in these fields. You can read more about the challenges girls and women still face in STEM in this TryEngineering article. If we think about opportunities for girls in STEM education from a viewpoint of equity rather than equality, we must realize that girls face different challenges to be inspired and getting started in a STEM field. For example, girls across the world are still battling the stereotype that STEM fields are more suitable for boys, and therefore, may lack the courage or motivation to pursue education in these areas. Opportunities for both boys and girls to learn about STEM topics are often equality-based, but they might not necessarily consider the challenges that a girl might face in getting to or even learning about such an opportunity. Additionally, girls from socio-economically challenged backgrounds may face even greater hurdles to starting an educational path in STEM. Equity-based opportunities and solutions will take these challenges into consideration to help these girls reach the same goal as boys, no matter where they have to start from.
Be Inspired
Ready to make a difference and help bring STEM opportunities to girls and women around the world? IDW has an abundance of resources to help you get started, including downloads, links to events and speakers, videos, and more. Be sure to catch our Women in Engineering edition of TryEngineering Tuesday where you can learn about many of the amazing STEM advancements brought to us by women; be sure to register for the event webinar on demand. Additionally, the TryEngineering Girls in STEM Volunteer Portal features programs that are designed specifically for girls to create an understanding of the opportunities that are available to them in engineering and technology; be inspired by one of all of these programs to launch your own equitable program to help a girl get started in STEM today!