by Amy Quinn, Senior Policy Analyst,
National Women's Law Center

As the 100th International Women’s Day is observed today around the world, women have much to celebrate. Today’s women and girls have inherited a path made smoother by the brave efforts of our mothers and grandmothers. Yet International Women’s Day is not only about celebrating the accomplishments of the women who came before us, but also about renewing our commitment to leaving a better world for the women who will follow us.

Women’s achievements and continuing challenges are not mere abstractions, but concrete features of our own lives and family histories. As a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer from Senegal (2005-2007), my own thoughts on this day include the experiences of the women of my family here in the U.S., as well as the women of my host family in Senegal.

Growing up in New England in the 80s and 90s, there was much that I took for granted. I participated in sports, took challenging courses in every discipline, and was taught to dream big for my future. I remember feeling puzzled at age fourteen when a coach assured my team that he didn’t take us any less seriously just because we were girls. At the time, I was unaware that my right to participate in athletics had been a battle hard-fought by women before me. As I grew older, I came to appreciate the novelty of the opportunities open to women of my generation. I heard the stories of older women in my family, who grew up in a world where very few career choices were open to women, and they are proud of the work that the youngest women in our family are now doing.

Growing up in rural Senegal in the 80s and 90s, my good friend Koumba did not have many of the opportunities that I took for granted. Yet, her story, too, is one of progress and hope. When I completed my Peace Corps service in March of 2007, Koumba and most of the other women in her village spent hours each day transporting water on their heads from the nearest well, which was in a neighboring village. When I returned to the village for a visit less than two years later, I was shocked to see that most women were no longer obliged to carry water. Instead, I saw both women and men driving water back to the village on carts pulled by horses and donkeys.

As the chief of Koumba’s village tells it, large sealable containers had become more readily available in the community, and the women promoted using these containers to transport water by cart. Their efforts resulted in a shift in social norms, and it became shameful to burden one’s wife with the chore of carrying water. Koumba’s daughter Mariyaama will not have to carry water the way her mother did. And she will have a crucial opportunity that her mother also lacked—next year she will begin her education at a newly built elementary school, the first to serve children from her village.

But despite advancements in women’s opportunities around the world, there are challenges that remain. Here in the U.S., women who work full-time, year-round earn only 77 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts. In addition, despite the growing importance of women to the American economy, there are few supports in place for women who juggle the responsibilities of work and family. In many developing countries today, particularly in poor, rural areas, girls continue to be underrepresented in school. In addition, lack of access to basic health services makes childbirth a potentially life-threatening event.

As we look back on the achievements of women on this International Women’s Day, let us also remember the work that remains. Our daughters and granddaughters around the world are depending on us.

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• Poverty & Inequality
• Amy Quinn

View Original Post at womenstake.org