I have a slightly complicated relationship with International Women’s Day. I understand why it exists, and I think it matters. There are still plenty of women whose stories have been overlooked, whose work has been undervalued, or who have had to work considerably harder than the man sitting next to them to be taken equally seriously. What makes me twitchy is the idea that we can spend one day enthusiastically championing women, post a photograph of somebody impressive, add an inspirational quote and then quietly consider the job done.
I have been fortunate. I have worked with some brilliant women and, for the most part, I have not experienced the sort of blatant misogyny that other women describe. I am not going to pretend otherwise simply because it would make the argument tidier. My experience is mine, though, and it is not evidence that the problem has disappeared. If anything, I think a lot of the interesting stuff now lives in the less obvious places, where it is harder to point at one thing and say, there, that is sexism.
It is in the woman whose confidence is regarded as a personality problem while the same behaviour in a man is seen as leadership. It is in assumptions about who will take the notes, organise the present, remember the birthday, smooth over the awkward conversation or quietly keep all the loose ends together. It is in whose potential gets spotted early and who is expected to prove themselves first. None of these things on their own is especially dramatic, which is probably why they can be so persistent.
Perhaps that is part of what bothers me about the language of championing women. It can make us sound like a slightly threatened species in need of a well meaning conservation programme, when most women do not need rescuing at all. They need fair opportunities, fair pay, the same assumptions of competence and the same freedom to get something wrong without their mistake becoming evidence about women generally.
We are very fond of celebrating exceptional women. The first woman to do something, the woman who broke a record, smashed a ceiling or succeeded despite impossible odds. I love many of those stories, and they deserve telling, but equality cannot only mean making room for the extraordinary ones. Women should be allowed to be perfectly ordinary too. To be good at their jobs without becoming inspirational, to be ambitious without having to justify it, to be difficult occasionally, and to have an off day without anybody quietly wondering whether women are really suited to the role after all.
Those of us who have a little influence have some responsibility here, not because we have to agree with every other woman or turn every opportunity into a crusade, but because it is worth noticing where the path was made easier for us. I know women have done that for me, sometimes deliberately and sometimes probably without ever realising it. They treated me as capable, encouraged me to have a go, shared what they knew and made certain spaces feel normal rather than somewhere I should be grateful to have been admitted.
That is the bit worth passing on. So yes, celebrate women on International Women’s Day, tell the stories, raise the profile and make a fuss if you want to. Just do not put equality back in the cupboard with the branded cupcakes when the day is over. mean it is not real for those who live it.
The numbers tell their own story. In 2022 fewer than one in ten FTSE 250 CEOs were women. The gender pay gap still exists. Women remain underrepresented at board level, and in industries that have always been seen as male dominated the picture is starker still.
This is not about creating a special corner for women. It is about making sure the whole space is open, accessible, and welcoming.
So today, and every day, we should celebrate the women who are already leading the way, while remembering that the work is far from finished. And if you are one of those women in power, then lead boldly, lift others with you, and show that none of us gets there alone.
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