International Women's Day

Tomorrow we will celebrate International Women’s Day. This event has been observed since 1908 when women marched in the streets of New York to demand voting rights (suffrage), better pay and shorter work hours. This year’s theme is #PressforProgress, a call-to-action after the 2017 World Economic Forum report which shows that at the rate we are going it will take 217 years for women and men to be equal in economic, educational, health and political terms. It’s not all bad news though - we can be grateful that:

·     The challenge of primary school enrolment has been solved – girls and boys are being enrolled at the same rate. 

·     Brazil, Chile, Malawi, Liberia, Bangladesh, South Korea, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Israel and Australia have all had female heads of state or Prime Ministers.

·     More Australian women are completing courses which lead to higher-paying jobs, such as Engineering and Information Technology. 

 ·     Iceland has made it illegal to pay women less than men. 

 ·     Saudi Arabian women will be allowed to drive from June this year. 

 ·     The number of women dying in childbirth has fallen by 45% since 1990.

I want to express my appreciation and admiration to all the women that have been a part of my life and helped me become the person I am today including my (late) mother, my sister, the women who taught me at all levels of my education from primary to University level, work colleagues past and present, my daughter and especially my wife (@Dr. Lana Leslie-Henfling) who is an inspiration to many.