A Day Without Women

 

I teach in a school that is lead by two male administrators. There are over 50 teachers in the building, and  less than 10 of them are men. We are overwhelmingly a school of women, lead by men.

If none of the women in my building showed up today, March 8, to support the strike on International Women’s Day, the school would have to close. We’d also all be in violation of our contract, and on parent/teacher conference day, striking work didn’t seem like a great idea.

To raise awareness about Women’s Rights, I had a candid discussion with my students this morning. My history counterpart and I  handed out an article about International Women’s Day to lead things off. 

“Why isn’t there a men’s day? Jeez,” a kid interjected.

I raised an eyebrow, but an empowered softball player in the front row piped up, “Because women aren’t treated the same as men. Guys have never been discriminated against as a group in history. You don’t have to fight to get equal pay.”

“Yup, and…”

We talked about men and women’s rolls throughout history, and why things are still complicated- increasingly so considering recent legislation.

One of the things that the “Everything You Need to Know About International Women’s Day” page suggests is that men reconsider the rolls that they play in their homes.

My husband has been working hard on stepping up his game. He wakes up, takes a shower, makes my lunch, dresses the kids and loads them in the car.

On the other end of the day, I pick the kids up, do the dishes, unpack and repack the daycare and preschool bags.

We’re a team.

This morning, my guy even put a load of laundry away and reloaded the washer before I was out of the shower. Honestly, I’ve never felt more loved than when I opened up my drawer this morning and saw that I had clean underwear.

I’m lucky enough to live in a bubble where I don’t feel discriminated against for my gender. I am supported at work, and at home. I have access to the care that I need and want. My pay is predetermined by my level of experience and education.

Not all women get to live in a world like mine, so today, I wore red.