International Women's Day

This IWD coincides with my 20 year anniversary of considering myself a feminist. I guess I was one before then, but I didn't know of the term. I just knew that things weren't right. I had hopes of things changing in the future, but I don't think that's happened, at least to the extent I had wanted it to.

My middle school-self wanted equality in pay for women, access to reproductive health care services, and a future that included more than settling down with someone and getting married.

As I got older, I began to understand more deeply how the issues of social justice also tie into feminism. Accessing clean water, living in a safe home, having a reliable source of food, and being able to live without fear of violence are concerns that affect all women to differing degrees.

There hasn't been equality. Femicides continue to occur. The gender pay gap has not narrowed, and, in fact, has begun to widen in the past 10 years. Women are living and raising children in a world that's becoming increasingly more toxic.

There's a lot more work to be done.