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Today is International Woman’s Day. I checked out the IWD web site to see what it was really all about, because I must confess to having some mixed feelings about it. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a woman. I’ve been a woman my entire life. I have suffered the sexual harassment, the sexual abuse, the rapes, the violence. I’ve suffered the attempts by men to stifle who and what I am. I’ve suffered wage inequality and been on the receiving end of misogynists who claimed to be for equal rights and yet simply did not pay attention to my desires, my wisdom or my words. Yes, I have simply been discounted. Someone mentioned to me the other day that her husband “allowed” her to get her nails done because he liked to have his back scratched with those nice nails. Sigh. No....we have not yet achieved equality. No, we do not have gender parity. I’m old enough now to stand on my own two feet, and most times when I encounter misogyny I just bless them and move on, although I’m able and willing to prevent someone from physically abusing me. I’m even for a day devoted to highlighting the achievements and attributes of women. And I am glad to see that we also have an International Men’s Day. I loved it that on the International Women’s Day web site they called for “Now, more than ever, there's a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. A strong call to #PressforProgress. A strong call to motivate and unite friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.”

...continue reading "I Celebrate Gender Inclusivity"