Explore the roots and relevance of International Women's Day with your favorite trainers. Together, we celebrate the monumental advances while casting a critical eye on current challenges. Our discussion commemorates the bravery of early activists and the significant leaps forward, while also acknowledging the persistence of inequality in areas like politics, healthcare, and the economy.
As we dissect the gender gaps that stubbornly linger in today's society, the discussion uncovers the roots of these disparities and the societal constructs that sustain them. We navigate the intricate web of family influences, educational systems, and societal pressures that shape gender roles, and how these factors can be reformed to foster a world where women's contributions are equally valued. This episode isn't just an homage to the victories of the past; it's a clarion call for ongoing action—a reminder that the quest for parity demands our collective, everyday dedication. Join us for a potent mix of celebration, reflection, and motivation, and remember, every step toward gender equality is a step toward a more just and inclusive world.
Explore the roots and relevance of International Women's Day with your favorite trainers. Together, we celebrate the monumental advances while casting a critical eye on current challenges. Our discussion commemorates the bravery of early activists and the significant leaps forward, while also acknowledging the persistence of inequality in areas like politics, healthcare, and the economy.
As we dissect the gender gaps that stubbornly linger in today's society, the discussion uncovers the roots of these disparities and the societal constructs that sustain them. We navigate the intricate web of family influences, educational systems, and societal pressures that shape gender roles, and how these factors can be reformed to foster a world where women's contributions are equally valued. This episode isn't just an homage to the victories of the past; it's a clarion call for ongoing action—a reminder that the quest for parity demands our collective, everyday dedication. Join us for a potent mix of celebration, reflection, and motivation, and remember, every step toward gender equality is a step toward a more just and inclusive world.
Hello there and welcome to T3 Training Together on Tuesdays. I'm Trina, and with me are Tony and a brand new guest. Her name is Mix, and we're here. Both Tony and I are definitely here to learn with everyone else in the audience, to learn from each other's tales, share tips and discover new tools. So in this episode okay, very special again, this episode we're going to talk about something very relevant and very important, which is a holiday coming up, and it's International Women's Day. So do you know why International Women's Day, tony? Are you aware of that? Of course I know that.
Speaker 2:
I'm a B-boy here. I'm a character here. I'm not allowed to be a mix-dip. March 8th, is that right? Oh right, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding ding. I know that. I know what hashtag for this year.
Speaker 1:
What hashtag the theme I?
Speaker 2:
really hope that you're watching, miss Mix.
Speaker 1:
The pressure, the pressure.
Speaker 2:
If I'm not mistaken, it's inspiring hashtag, inspiring inclusion, or something like that. Inspiring inclusion IWD 2024.
Speaker 1:
That's the theme.
Speaker 1:
And of course, the Philippines also has its own. It aligns to that. I read it it's like 2023 to 2028 plan with that theme as well. So, before we let Miss Mix join in, we'll just have a briefly share with you her background. She's actually our go-to person for gender and development knowledge, so she's a very good resource person and she's a gender consultant for several civil society organizations, one of which is she's also a member of the International Advisory Board of the Women Engaged for a Common Future and also a member of the Women's Sectoral Council of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
Speaker 1:
I really feel like I should be able to do anything. I feel like I'm a teacher. I need to be able to do anything. We have a special guest today. So, anyway, before we let Miss Mix share with us her knowledge and expertise on the significance of this day, so just to provide some trivia, I know a little bit. Again, miss Mix, feel free to jump in if you're wrong.
Speaker 1:
I know that International Women's Day was first celebrated in 1909, at the start of the 20th century, and I also know that this was actually triggered by an event in New York, because I read that 140 working girls, mostly Jewish and Italian immigrants, in New York died in a factory due to harsh working conditions. So that's how the importance of really paying attention to the rights of women was triggered, because at that time, in the early part of the 20th century, in the latter part of the 19th century, women were treated as really or probably most of history were treated as second-class citizens. So therefore, that was brought about and as the years progressed, the mentality gained traction. I don't know if it's right to say it's a movement as well. In a way, it's a positive movement. So that's one of the trivia that I can share. Another is also do you know in which country were women given the right to vote, the first country that actually allowed women to vote?
Speaker 2:
Maybe that's European country.
Speaker 1:
Actually, no, I thought it was European. Actually, it's closer to us Apparently. Well, again, based on the research, it's New Zealand, Okay, in 1893. So it's in a way closer to us as well. Very good. And then formally, the UN adopted International Women's Day in 1975. So closer to our birth age. And then let's bring it closer to home.
Speaker 1:
Since it's about International Women's Month, march, right? So we already had a gold medal for the Philippines. Who was the first gold medal for the Philippines? Hideline, of course, she was a woman. We were all gold and women. Of course, hideline Dias won for us the gold, and that's a 55 kilogram category for weightlifting in 2020. So just to set the stage now yes, we've made a lot of progress in terms of acknowledging women and giving women opportunities, although they said that it's far away, but still far away. There's a lot more to come there. Ms Meeks will be there and her expertise on, so we'll let the ball roll Again. We'll just have a free, flowing discussion here. So, just to kick things off, ms Meeks, for you, having worked in the gender and development industry or area, what for you is International Women's Day, or the significance of International Women's Day, and why do we celebrate it?
Speaker 3:
First of all, thank you for inviting me, and I would like to congratulate you on your knowledge of what you call trivia About the day itself and about women's movement in general.
Speaker 1:
Those to our writer, Nicole, who's not here.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, you, actually, they're not trivia in my opinion, very important part of the story of women internationally. March 8th, you mentioned New York. This is where women textile workers protest because of harsh working conditions and they can't do the same. They can't do the same for men, but especially if women are doing the same. So it really and this was in 1957, by the way, you can tell me, but it's actually the year before I was born From a nearer to my story. So why should we celebrate it? As you said, three years ago, maybe not just 100 years ago millennia, when you saw the status of women, you were not naive. If you look at the status of equality and respect for human dignity, it really differs in the whole world. There are many different people, both males and females. It's only a year ago that you saw the world's story. Women are really different in different ways. So the global traction on this started, I would say, in the 1980s. It was not declared, because it was the United Nations as an international decade for women.
Speaker 1:
Oh nice.
Speaker 3:
And the first loss we had about women was in 1988. And since then we have many children here in the school in the province of Ihan. Let's look at the question coming from the question of why do we want to celebrate the International Women's Day, the theme of International Women's Day, 2024, according to the UN Women I invest in women, accelerate progress. It means that many people think that if you really want to start a place or a country in the case of our case, the Philippines is important to invest in the province of Ihan. So in the Philippines, the Philippines has its own theme for 2024. This recording theme is very near the capture you made earlier. The longer title is Women's Empower for Gender Equality and Include Society. So it means that women cannot be evaluated in the way that we want to think about progress, like there shouldn't be a generic approach. This is a project for women for all, for women who are automatically evaluated for women or women who are also women.
Speaker 3:
So, look at rural areas, for example. Farming, for example. Farmers are usually male, right, male, yeah, but usually they're involved in more visible heavy tasks like flowing the process and handling of the harvesting, but those who don't know each other between flowing and harvesting, who are the ones who weed?
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 3:
Weed, not daily. Normally this is not done by a big person, but it's not recognized and it's limited to unpaid work. It's like a male is doing a paid work Because the husband, the wife and the children are just a bit weak. So in the talk of technology, why can't the woman be able to do it?
Speaker 3:
We have to catch the tractor, the flow, but why don't we do it? It's suitable, yes, or the woman is sick, and it's certain that when there's gender sensitivity, orientation in the talk, who can do it better? One of my husband, because the woman is pregnant, the man is in a big situation and he's a sedentary lifestyle. So it's not about the strength, but these are the finer points in the talk of gender sensitivity, what we call it, or looking at the situation of the woman and the man. It's limited and it won't make sense. Women's right to vote are less than 100 years old. Imagine that before that, the decision, only in our country, is for the man. Why did we have the right to vote? It was not because men were magnanimous. I said, let's add you go all the way to the right. We don't have to fight this. We have to have the right to vote. And what are the women who are called to that time?
Speaker 2:
Alright, Miss Micks, I have a question for you In the light of so many milestones in terms of pushing for women's equality, whether it's at home, work, community, school, specifically here in our village in the Philippines, how far have we gone, Given your research, given your exposure, your experience, how far have we gone and how long are we looking at towards the ideal, the optimal?
Speaker 3:
I think the answers to the question are needed.
Speaker 2:
We have so many listeners who may not be as learned as you, as scholarly as we can be we are not as we want it to be but if we can talk about where we are at this point, let's say on a scale of 1 to 10, and 10 is the optimal. The dream is there. Equality for women and gender equality in general. Where are we now, as a Philippine nation, pushing forward on this particular challenge and how far are we looking at?
Speaker 3:
We have accomplished a lot of things the start of the global official recognition of the plight of women and the need to better their conditions, or the need to fight for gender equality in the 1980s. With the international decade for women, the strides are already big. The very fact that we use the term gender and development and people know more or less when they look at it the common term of gender and development is that it was not there before and then in the last 100 years, women got the right to vote. A little over a hundred years ago in the Philippines, females can enter schools. They're right to educate more women, education Girls. There's nothing like that for the family. You don't have to go to school. In fact, there was a time. There was a time when, let's say, you could hardly get into the college medicine of PGH for women. That's really crazy. You're crazy.
Speaker 3:
Or even during my colleagues who were trying to get into the college of law, they were complaining during the interviews, they were complaining about the delivery of the interviews and then, because of this, women will have a harder time. I mean facing the courts, facing the macho world. They need to be interviewed to make sure they can do it. Now you can do that. That's right. So we have done a lot. And then we have a lot of laws about women, gender equality, international and national, and even local ordinances. I believe my gender code is Kessler City, where I live, but it's hard to use the scale because I really wouldn't know. But if I had to put a number, I would have to put five in the middle, five, okay. Okay, we have done a lot of strides, but we still need a lot more. In fact, the Philippines has actually a high mortality rate, which is usually indicative of the status of women in a place.
Speaker 1:
Right.
Speaker 3:
That's another thing that hasn't been achieved.
Speaker 1:
And then New health care Nellaya.
Speaker 3:
Well, in terms of mortality, I'm just going to say a little bit more, but it's attached to what kind of health care do they receive? That's right. Explanations, what are they expecting? Society, et cetera. Yeah, One of our studies. It shows that if you go to any health center mostly women you will see them. Okay, what's for themselves? They're there to bring their children for immunization or their husbands for a high blood pressure check. Okay, they're there to bring their children for a high blood pressure check. That's right.
Speaker 3:
Actually, let's look at our country, which is the gender gap report of the World Economic Forum. Consistently, for the past years, we've always been in the top 10. Nice, We've always been in the top 10. We kind of slipped under the dirty administration. I don't know from our previous studies, I don't know how it will be under the current administration, but we will slip there. This gender gap report looks at four aspects Education, health, governance and economic aspects of the lives of men and women. And we're doing so well with education on 99% interest. And then we do so with okay. We're okay with economics, we're okay with healthcare, Despite our very bad maternal mortality rate. But what do we feel if we look at it, according to gender gap report governance. Governance we say women in management, women in Congress or, for instance, women in politics, Leadership positions.
Speaker 2:
Governance gap.
Speaker 3:
If we're looking for something, what else should we improve the statistics? That is one thing that we can look at. Women in economics Okay, labor force participation is higher, but where do we pay? And then how much are they paid? We think it's much better than when we started out, but it's still so bad, or it's not bad. There's no equity in terms of, for example, are women being paid equally for equal?
Speaker 2:
That's the kind of work, right.
Speaker 3:
And then healthcare is changed, reinforced care of a woman. But a woman is more than that, of course. It's more than you know baby carrier, baby maker. So if we look at the health statistics, but how do you see the baby? Maybe as the baby you know the baby maker. So those are the things that we want to look at. Despite really good figures as far as the gender gap report is considered, it's very good to hear and I think that's a very good report to share.
Speaker 2:
When we do our, you know, do some blog, some blog or some website, we can also float that in that particular World Economic Forum Report. Is it right, miss Mix On gender? So?
Speaker 3:
it has the statistics globally, but it also has a per country.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they have that. You have profiling in them, right? Oh nice. So we'll get hold of that so that we can share it. Is that a 2023 report, I suppose?
Speaker 3:
I think the one that I looked at is 2022. I'm not very sure yet. Oh, okay If there's a 2023 now.
Speaker 1:
It's still pretty recent, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:
I'm not really just pretty decent. Quite good, but it's still not be satisfied with those, because there's a lot of stories behind those really good figures. It's like really good in terms of loss, but are they being implemented properly?
Speaker 2:
So that's my question actually. So where's the loss, let's say, for Philippines or in general? Where's the loss? So do we need more money, more money, more police, or just like what you said? Is it really the execution, implementation, our people? Have we reached that level of awareness already? Do we have support from the peripherals and the mechanisms around to push for all of these losses?
Speaker 3:
There are many policy changes that we need. Maybe there are some losses that we want to be able to handle, but if there are losses or any problems, then it's a political will of our lawmakers and our development is duty-bearers. For example, according to our law, all government agencies and units offices need at least 5% of what we use for gender and development. That's a law, has to be implemented. What can we do If you really don't have sincere appreciation for gender issues? Where will you use the money that you borrowed in the early years? Dancing barangay exposure? We didn't say travel, it was our projects that were not really contributing to gender equality, which was the main point of that policy. We are talking about Godfodging. So in the Philippine Commission on Women, there are improvements in this aspect, but much has to be done.
Speaker 2:
So I think we need more people who will really support and who will really push for these things, because if the policy is there, if the law is there, what else is needed? Just like what you said, the mentality or the attitude towards it is going to be enacted. That's what we need, and hopefully we can have more people in leadership roles who will support the conversation about women.
Speaker 3:
Because if you look at the Congress or the Senado, you look at the women. Why did they fight? They were the sons of men.
Speaker 1:
Connections yes.
Speaker 3:
They were quite qualified, but the point is that they got a heads up in politics Because of those connections. It's not really the governance position, it's not really that open for them, I see.
Speaker 1:
So, yeah, I think what we're talking about definitely is very relevant. Especially, we're talking about the macro, the influence of what we said. Governance is the main opportunity area, but I'm curious in the common mentality of the common population of people, how do we bring that down? Boosting the value of women, how do we ensure that we take space in our everyday lives in terms of not just mentality but also day-to-day living? Basically, how do we ourselves? Because what are the practical steps that we can take, for instance, as a citizen?
Speaker 3:
I would start at home. Usually we ask ourselves in our sensitivity workshops how do you raise your children, especially your, for example? Who do you teach to raise your children? It's much better for you. You know. If you have a child, you can raise your children around you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:
That's the language. Why do you have to be like?
Speaker 3:
that.
Speaker 2:
There are specific behaviors that we tend to associate with the rule.
Speaker 3:
Yes, Not again, there are strides here but even what courses they can take up.
Speaker 2:
Right right, Neutral for everyone. Anyone can sign up for it.
Speaker 3:
For example, in a marital relationship, for example, it doesn't mean to say down or words to yourself. If your husband is a teacher, why are you so subservient? Because you are the one who is teaching your husband. That's the way it is. I'll see you in the next video. Of course, it's okay to have a multiple of my husband. The point is, it's okay for a man to have a multiple of his husband. The reverse, exactly Because you, not because I have to or it's expected of me.
Speaker 1:
Because you're a woman. Exactly that's the gender identity.
Speaker 3:
Again, that has been improving since last time. I'm sure, once I know the point that women's issues are important, that's how we can recognize among women, among grassroots women, that what their term is, if I may bring this up, for it's with relations within marriage or within any relationship. Sex is a man's right and a woman's responsibility. Within marriage, women are a man's right, but it's a woman's obligation.
Speaker 2:
So imagine that kind of mindset which exists.
Speaker 3:
What makes this?
Speaker 2:
Is there a particular culture that is like that of the Pananaw?
Speaker 3:
Yes, I mean it's spoken in gated villages. Of course there's the violence.
Speaker 1:
Of course there's domestic violence.
Speaker 3:
You do never know about that. One of my opigynes said Nix, what do I do when a woman comes to me and obviously there have been signs of, let's say, marital rape, that she's slipped in the bathroom or something, and that still exists? Something we can do. I think teaching children to be gentle how do you raise your sons and daughters can be a very critical and very doable thing to do.
Speaker 2:
I will agree with Miss Nix it all starts at the home.
Speaker 3:
It all starts with the family.
Speaker 2:
So if we can teach them that and we will let go of behaviors that are not in alignment or will not support gender development, we have to start from within and having podcasts like this Wow, Of course, anything that's going to reach out to broader people can really be of help.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, definitely, the family is the basic unit of society. It's the most basic place where things spill forth in terms of values and behaviors, just like what you mentioned, the influence that's really starting from the mentality within the family. So hopefully this episode sheds a profound light on the plight of women basically and I hope not just women, because it's obvious that International Women's Day is geared towards women, but I think this podcast will also benefit the men and anyone else who is breathing. Basically, we all want to place value on the human dignity of people In general, not just women, and what we really want, based on the very profound information and insights that Miss Nix provided, is what we really want is to raise awareness, because when you look at history and society, it's really aggravated.
Speaker 1:
Although we've made a lot of strides, as you mentioned, there's still a lot of work to be done and I personally want to extend my appreciation to Miss Nix, for you know she's one of those gents I guess, I don't know, is it okay to call you a gender warrior or the gender champion, gender advocate and I hope you'll be more successful and hopefully, by you being part of this episode, hopefully all of you will be more successful. So thank you, miss Nix, for you know, because I personally learned a lot, because a lot of times we're just sitting idly by and just being comfortable in our own bubble and it's good to know these things and what really is happening, because we're overlooking it. So any final words from Miss Nix, from Tony.
Speaker 3:
I think on my part, it's International Women's Day and it's National Women's Month, but it involves both women and men. That's why it's called a task or a term. What you want to do is gender and development. You don't have time now, but maybe you can look up. There's this one. I think the title is for every woman, but it says something like I don't know the exact words, but something like for every woman who is sort of criticized for being a cry baby, there is a man who is not allowed to express himself. Oh yeah, so it's a very nice juxtaposition that if and more obvious of course discrimination or the oppression, directly calling the oppression of women through millennial, it meant men suffered as well, exactly In terms of humanity, in terms of they might have a better time of it through the millennia, but there's also a suffering and a poverty in terms of the humanity and well being.
Speaker 2:
Well, I just wanted to say that for organizations who would be spearheading their own celebrations of IWD for this year, I hope you pick activities that are going to be meaningful and very transformational for your people. Let's make use of that day, that event, to make more meaning out of the advocacy and the themes that the United Nations and IWD has prepared for all of us, and this is not a one-off event.
Speaker 2:
It's an everyday thing that we should always be working on and, yes, my mindful of, and working in tandem with the support groups, just like the groups that the mix belong to partner with them and establish relationships with them so that you can bring forth more awareness and more transformative drives in your organizations. That's for me.
Speaker 1:
Great. Oh my gosh, I don't have anything to say, I just want to listen. But anyway, just like my beautiful co-hosts and our special guests have mentioned again, let's continuously strive for gender equality, and not just women's rights, but everyone's rights as well, because all of us are one, regardless of our gender, basically. So thank you again. Thank you so much for listening to our very meaningful episode today for Titas Together on Tuesdays. We hope you enjoyed this episode as we celebrate the International Women's Day. So, if you did, please follow our podcast and leave us a rating and review. So, if you have questions and comments, please visit our website at pro163learningplus, and don't forget to check out our T3 blog for more tips and advice. So, whatever resources we've provided, we'll put that onto our blog, including the poem that Miss Mix mentioned. So, yes, definitely, we'll be back next time with more tips and tools from your favorite trainers. So until next time, keep learning, keep fighting and happy International Women's Day, thank you. Thank you, miss Mix.
