International Women's Day 2023

Image by Bianca Van Dijk from Pixabay.

I had my first day back at work on Tuesday. It was nice seeing my national lead. I was surprised that many of the lunch places in my building were still operating. One that was lost, I still don't want food from after three years away from it, so that was a happy change. 

At our International Women's Day virtual event yesterday, an upgrade to the Golden Rule was proposed by a speaker.

The Platinum Rule

Treat others the way they want to be treated. Don't assume they want to be treated like you. Ask them what works for them.

I like this, but I also think we need to be careful because some people are overly demanding to an unreasonable level. They tend to demand to see the manager...

Learning

Another topic came up and that was how certain courses like science and math might be taught in ways that males understand more easily than females. I think all the methods should be available for every student to get what they need in order to learn. And I think that's important for a gender diverse approach to learning that is inclusive of non-binary and transgender individuals. Not assuming that someone will learn in a particular way based on their genitals just makes sense to me. And it might be helpful for neurodiverse people as well.

Health

Another speaker brought up the reality that we're still fighting for the medical community to take the needs of women seriously. It's more common that women will have conditions like arthritis and autoimmune disorders, yet less money and time is put into research and treating them. I experience this firsthand. I read something earlier that conditions that have a trigger might be able to go into remission. This is something that needs to be explored. How many people could have better lives and contribute to society as fully as possible if their conditions could be turned off? 

By the end of Tuesday, I only had 9 emails left in my inbox. It's been awhile since I found the bottom of it! Right now, the more I clear, the better. More on the reason for that when I'm allowed to talk about it 🙂

Happy International Women's Day!