women

Today is International Women’s Day. Today I’m pleased to live in the country that was first to achieve women’s suffrage—in 1893. It would not have happened without the tireless effort of many women. Kate Sheppard, who led the charge, is commemorated on New Zealand’s $10 note.

Five bills giving women the vote, the first as early as 1878, nearly passed Parliament before the 1893 bill was successful. The successful bill was backed up by a petition signed by 32,000 women. That may not seem like a lot of signatures today, but it represented one-quarter of the female population of the country. That achievement, at a time before social media, e-mail, faxes, or even decent road access to much of the country, is truly astonishing.

Of course, suffrage was only one step in the journey toward gender equality. It wasn’t until 1933 that New Zealand saw its first female Member of Parliament, and though we’ve now had three female Prime Ministers, women are still underrepresented in the government. Women still earn 9 percent less than men (though that is much better than the 18 percent difference in Australia, the UK and the US). Women still face sexism at work and in daily life. There is still much to be done.

But I am heartened by the progress that has been made. It is encouraging to see younger women and girls speaking up and speaking out, and taking for granted rights and opportunities my generation was only beginning to grasp at their age.

As a Peace Corps volunteer twenty-five years ago, much of the work I did was with women, empowering them to be leaders in their community and beyond. It is generally acknowledged in international development circles that if you empower the women, you raise the well-being of the entire community (more so than if you expend the same effort empowering men). This is every bit as true in the developed world as it is in the developing world. No society benefits from oppressing half its population.

As a high school student, I participated in a job-shadowing day. At the time, I was interested in a career in wildlife management, so I shadowed a ranger at a local wildlife management area. When I walked in the door that morning, the director crossed his arms and scowled at me.

“We don’t like girls,” he said.

Well.

Sorry to hear that. We’re here to stay.

Girls can have adventures, too.

It’s only fitting that today I celebrate two women who influenced my view of the world and a woman’s place in it—Dian Fossey and Jane Goodall.

These two women were my heroes growing up. They defied everything society taught me a woman should be. They were bold, courageous, and smart. They spent their days scrambling through the rainforest wearing khakis, with their hair pulled back into a no-nonsense ponytail. They believed passionately in their work, and Fossey even died for it.

I devoured every article about them in National Geographic and International Wildlife magazines. I watched every documentary on their work. I wanted to grow up just like them.

They taught me the value of patience. They taught me to sit still and observe. Watching how they studied apes, I learned to leave the butterfly net and jam jars at home—I could learn more by joining my subjects in their world than by bringing them into mine.

And when, as a teen-ager on a job shadow day, I was told by a burly wildlife manager, “We don’t like girls,” Fossey and Goodall were standing behind me. “Ha! I’d like to see him try to stop you! Hold your ground, girl!”

I know I am not alone. I am not the only girl who has taken strength from the women who have gone before them. I am not the only girl who might have caved in to dismissive career counsellors and teachers, to the stereotypes they saw on TV every day, to the expectation that even a ‘tomboy’ would eventually grow up into a ‘real’ girl. A generation of girls watched Fossey and Goodall and took notes.

I never did study big mammals like I wanted to, but not because of my gender—I found my skills and interests ultimately led me elsewhere. But Fossey and Goodall are still my heroes.

Thank you, ladies. For your groundbreaking research, and for being you. You have made a difference in more lives than you know.

Robinne Weiss

Fantasy / Sci-fi / Non-fiction

International Women’s Day

Happy International Women’s Day!