EDI SUB-COMMITTEE
International Women’s Day T
he EDI committee intends to promote issues throughout the year using the ‘Inclusivity Calendar’ from Inclusive Employers: The Diversity and Inclusion Calendar | Inclusive Employers. We are currently a small committee, so can’t hope to cover everything but welcome anyone who would like to initiate any campaign either as a ‘one-off’ contribution or by joining the committee. We also welcome working with partner firms or organisations. The committee is focused on using social media and the magazine to promote and report on issues. We have covered in recent editions LGBTQ+ issues, black lives matter, disability and in this edition International Women’s Day. We partnered with Legal Women magazine for the #choosetochallenge campaign. Many thanks to all those who helped which culminated in this montage of photos. Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. The EDI Committee also held a successful event marking IWD by an evening with City Lawyer, Lesley Wan, and Charity Mafuba has reported this on page 13.
International Women’s Day: what is it for? Everyday sexism wears people down – you can choose to change that by challenging stereotypes and misogyny and celebrating achievements of the women you know. This can be in every part of your life: quietly asking someone not to talk over a woman speaking, not making assumptions about the life ambitions of the women you meet, being respectful to female leaders. All of society together can act now. International Women’s Day IWD 2021 used a theme of #choosetochallenge. So, make a difference, think globally and act locally! Make every day International Women’s Day. 12 | CENTRAL LONDON LAWYER
IWD has been marked annually since 1911 on March 8th and is a day of the year to: ■ celebrate women’s achievements ■ raise awareness about women’s equality ■ lobby for accelerated gender parity ■ fundraise for female-focused charities So far there is no country in the world with gender equality and yet it is often thought that the battles have been fought. Women’s rights have come a long way over the last 100 years, bringing the right to vote, enter the professions, own property and financial rights but there is still more to do. In the UK many of the relevant laws are in place but discrimination persists often due to cultural norms. The United Nations has marked IWD since 1975. IWD is an official holiday in many countries including Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. Trivia question: When is International Men’s Day? 19 November. International Men’s Day – Men Leading by Example ■
Coral Hill
Editor Legal Women, Chair of Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, WHLS www.LegalWomen.org.uk
