Welcome, everyone! And thank you for asking me to talk today.
Yesterday was International Women’s Day, and March is Women’s History Month. Some countries mark International Women’s Day as a full day of celebration and a day off when it occurs on a Monday through Friday. I recall so well being at this celebration in Lira, Uganda in 2013. It included marches and speeches and dancing, followed by dinner celebrations.
Most people in the US have never heard of it. But then, unfortunately, the UN, worked at so hard by one of our top female leaders, Eleanor Roosevelt, is not given much recognition in the US in recent year. And certainly not now.
Being a newbie to France, I’m not sure if it receives much recognition here. Anyone?
This year’s theme is “Let’s Accelerate Action.” And so, I have tried to think of those topics involving women’s rights in need of accelerated action and ways in which we, as UUs, can contribute to these important issues. And, given how I believe most of us are feeling about events in the US that affect the whole world, I have tried to think about those women who have stood up for rights, human decency, and goodness.
I’ve thought about our female ancestors who worked valiantly for women’s rights and human rights, about current issues for women, and about unknown women who continue the work to make known the issues and inequalities faced by women and by all people worldwide.
Of course, there are far more examples than I can discuss today. And how can I choose? When I started to research the topic, I enjoyed reading brief biographies of 100 women who changed the course of history. And even this is such a small sample. There were influential queens such as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Victoria, and Elizabeth I; masterful writers like George Eliot, Jane Austen, and Maya Angelou; warriors and saints/scholars such as Joan of Arc, Therese of Lisieux, and Saint Teresa of Avila; activists for freedom and rights including Harriet Tubman, Susan B Anthony, Bella Abzug, Malala Yousafzai, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg; scientists and mathematicians – Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Ada Lovelace; artists like Frida Kahlo, Berthe Morisot, and Mary Cassatt; explorers like Sally Ride. Pioneers in health like Florence Nightingale and Clara Barton.
Just think of how they changed history!
Throughout history, women have fought for equality. I have to frown when I read words in students’ history books that state that women were “given” the right to vote in – in the US it would be August, 1920. That makes it sound like the right was some kindness on the part of government. Of course, it wasn’t. For at least a century prior, women fought for this right. They were mocked, excluded, and even imprisoned for insisting on this basic right and recognition of equality.
Not until 1974 – in most of our lifetimes – were women allowed to get their own credit cards, thanks to the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. According to the Pew Research Center, women in the US still earn 82% of what men make for the same jobs, and that hasn’t changed in 20 years.
Then there is unpaid work. The UN Women website states that women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid housework and care work than men. This includes things like cooking, cleaning, fetching water and firewood, and taking care of children, the infirm, and the elderly. But this is rarely recognized as “work,” even though it is valued to be up to 39% of the Gross Domestic Product and can contribute more to the economy than the manufacturing, commerce, or transportation sectors.
Because they must spend so much time doing unpaid labor, they are often prevented from participating in paid labor. Three months ago the International Labor Organization published a new report from 125 countries that found 748 million people aged 15 and above are not in the paid workforce due to unpaid labor obligations. 700 million of that number are women. Globally, the ILO states that 1.6 billion women and 800 million men are outside the paid work force. 45% of women state that unpaid work is the reason; 5% of men give that reason. Women also represent the largest number of impoverished people due to an inability to be in the paid workforce.
Women and girls worldwide face other forms of inequality and violence. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 81% of women and 43% of men in the US experience some sort of sexual harassment in their lives. The vast majority of sexually trafficked people are women.
Girls and women are still tragically victimized by female genital mutilation in many countries. They are married off as children. In many countries, they face danger and death if they dare to go to school. 612 million women and girls lived within the brutal realities of armed conflict last year – a 50% increase in the last decade.
And so, there is work to be done.
As I mentioned, accelerating action is this year’s theme for International Women’s Day. How do we do that?
A number of my friends, including some in our congregation – are involved in an organization called FAWCO (Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas, but it includes women from other countries now). It was founded in 1931 and has 64 member clubs around the world, including two in Paris. FAWCO is a UN-accredited NGO and is active with the Commission on the Status of Women and COP, the annual UN environmental conference. Several members have contributed to the Beijing +30 document over the past year. The 1995 Beijing Declaration has been considered the most progressive platform for advancing women’s rights. It includes 12 areas of concern.Here are some highlights that can increase our awareness:
- Women and the Media – Perspective, point of view – they matter. Ads are voiced 7x more by men, making the male voice the authoritative one. Most with a female voice concern only products that are specifically targeted to women – cosmetics, laundry products. Directors are 82% male. Males write 81% of media scripts. Camera people are 91% men. So is it really a surprise that women appear naked 4x more than men in films?
I belong to a group situated in Sarasota, FL, called Through Women’s Eyes. Their 26th annual international film festival is taking place now. You can stream them through March 11.The movies are international independent films by and about women. They are really worth watching. You can check throughwomenseyes.org to get the details.
- Women and the Environment–Women and girls are disproportionally affected by climate change. Around the world, 80% are responsible for collecting water for their households. They must often walk over a mile each way to get water from a well. This results in many girls being unable to go to school. Climate change is making this task more difficult. They must also work in extreme heat to take care of crops. Research shows that women are more vulnerable to impacts of severe weather, such as food insecurity and disease.
- The Girl Child–Beijing +30 concentrated on girls’ mental health, child brides, and child widows as having insufficient resources, often leaving girls stranded, with insufficient help. As I mentioned, FGM remains a problem in many countries. According to UNICEF, over 230 million girls have experienced this torture, mostly in Africa (at 144 million) and Asia (at 80 million).
The Global Gender Gap Index for 2023 indicated that the education gap stands at 31.6% with only a 0.3% increase for girls since 2022. Many countries continue to prioritize boys’ education and expect girls to take on housekeeping and childcare. And yet, we know that educating girls results in a reduction of child marriage, increased health of girls and their children, increased education for their children, reduced poverty, and economic growth. Education increases women’s employment opportunities and earning power, also giving them more individual freedom.
- Human Rights of Women– There is an oft-stated phrase, “Women’s rights are human rights.” Yet, throughout the world, women are denied human rights simply because of their gender. They may be denied the freedom to choose if they marry, who they marry, and when they marry. They may be denied education and employment. They may be denied the right to own property.
In the US, reproductive rights have taken a stunning backlash. According to Human Rights Watch, the repressive new abortion laws have resulted in reduced prenatal care, particularly for low-income women, due to confusion and fear. As many states have criminalized healthcare providers who perform abortions, women at risk of miscarriages are also in danger of not finding a physician to help them due to civil penalties for “aiding and abetting” not bringing a fetus to full term. The investigative organization ProPublica has found that in states with abortion bans, women have bled to death, succumbed to fatal infections, and wound up in morgues with what medical examiners recorded were “products of conception” still in their bodies because they could not receive medical assistance. These are not necessarily women seeking abortions, but women needing prenatal care or in the throes of miscarriage.
- Women in Power and Decision-Making – Women account for 42% of the workforce worldwide, but only 32% are in senior leadership positions, according to the Academy of Women’s Leadership.
- Violence against Women – globally one in three women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their life. This is a high statistic. However, it has reduced since the Beijing Platform of 1995. More than 95% of mechanisms for institutional and intimate partner violence were established after the adoption of the Beijing Platform. This has included training police to support survivors of violence against women.
Other areas of concern voiced in the Beijing Platform include women and the economy, education and training of women, health issues, poverty, and armed conflict. I have touched on most during my remarks. It’s a lot. We have made progress, but there is so much more to do.
I chose the readings, It Is That Time and That Place, and Hope, and even Malala’s story, because, to me, they help us to think about actions, however small, that we can take individually and collectively.
Look at us. Here I stand. Last month, we had a woman minister lead the service. Prior to Peter, we had two women presidents. We are blessed! We are a model of what the world could be – recognizing the worth and the dignity of all our members – indeed, we strive to recognize it in every human.
(Now, we don’t proselytize. And I admit, I am SO grateful those days are very long gone for me! Oh, yes, as an 18-year old undergraduate I used to knock on dormitory doors and ask the unsuspecting young person who opened it, “Do you know the four spiritual laws and have you accepted Jesus into your heart as your lord and savior?”Whew! That was not easy then, and I could never make those cold calls now.)
However, I am proud of our tradition and happy to explain it to anyone. And beyond our faith tradition, I think we are all proud to speak out against injustice and do our bit to help others and care for our planet. Today we collect clothing for those who have less than we have. Last month we collected to help Afghan women. We have a proud tradition of collecting for Guest at Our Table. We help one another as we need care and loving visits. We get together to explore our common interests, whether they be film, books, museums, meditation. Or a glass of wine and conversation. We love having children as a part of our congregation. My experience of our congregation is a model of “Women’s rights are human rights” with women leading equally in our work together.
Last month Rev. Jane Dwinell spoke about the beauty of small congregations. My last congregation, UUs of Sarasota, has over 300 members. My first UU church in Portsmouth, NH, had about 200. And my second, in Exeter, NH, probably had about 150. I LOVE being a member of this small congregation. We know each other, we care about each other, we love each other. We honor the gifts brought by all, women and men. Do we realize how rare this is? We are astonishingly fortunate!
(Let me give you a comparison.Several years ago I created an 8-week program on honoring diversity for the Sarasota UU. We covered race, religion, gender, sexuality, disability, and immigration. I brought in guest speakers, provided readings and films. It was a lot of work, and many members came to all eight sessions and told me how much they learned and how much they appreciated it.
When it was all over, I got an email from the UU president. He said he spoke with Mr. B, a popular member of our church, who was willing to give a sermon on the 8-week course if it was ok with me. It was not. The only session Mr. B attended was the one in which he was a guest speaker. I felt disrespected as a woman and as a member of the church. Neither of them ever thought to apologize for how inappropriate it was to suggest this, and I became less engaged in that congregation.)
As we go forward as a congregation to protect and increase women’s rights, we can continue to educate ourselves and help to inform others. We can support equality for women through our votes, our donations, and our volunteering. And we can continue to nurture and honor our beloved congregation, which models respect and equality for all genders. Thank you.