Wife, mother, chartered physiotherapist, part-time rugby commentator, sometime rugby coach and ex rugby International wonders why we need a specific day to celebrate women.
When I was 14 I was the only girl playing hurling on a boys team in North Tipperary.
I came home from school one day to find that my dad had tied a pink ribbon on the back of my hurling helmet. Why you might ask? Well he wanted the boys to know that a girl was beating them!
Twenty odd years later I was the only woman amongst 50 men on an IRFU Level 2 Head Coach development course. Neither situation fazed me a bit—I wanted to play hurling so I did. I want to be the best coach that I can be so I applied for the course. I didn’t expect the IRFU to put on a special 'women only' course just for me.
You might be asking what has this to do with International Women’s Day.
Well, simply put I don’t believe in tokenism, quotas or anything else that ‘allows’ women to achieve or to succeed. I also don’t believe in violence against women (or men for that matter) and certainly don’t believe in inequality between the sexes or the horrendous conditions both social, domestic or otherwise that women have to endure in all parts of the world just because they are women.
International Women’s Day has its roots in Stalinist Russia—it was used to celebrate women’s contribution to the workforce. That might have been significant back then but now?
Apparently there is a ceiling, glass or otherwise, in industry, trade and commerce and there is a quota to try and have 25 to 30% women in positions above this ceiling. Why? If quota systems were operational you may well find that the best person for the job did not get the job.
I was at a high profile women’s rugby match recently and the referee was a woman and she was poor. Now there are plenty of poor male referees out there also but the overriding sense of the people I was with were, if she was given this match because she is a woman then that is wrong. If however she was the best referee for the job and simply had a bad day at the office and went through a vigorous post-match review that you would expect at that level then fair enough.
When is International Men’s Day? It is November 19th but the fact that it’s not largely celebrated in the same way is an indictment itself.
Or is it that men are confident enough and don’t need society to back them up?
Did Margaret Thatcher need positive reinforcement every time she stepped up to make a big decision?
Should Hilary Clinton get the US Presidency next time round because it’s about time there was a woman president or quite possibly because she is the best candidate.
During our own last presidential race I desperately wanted a strong woman to vote for. I vote every time because it took so long for us women to get the vote and I am grateful to all the women that fought and suffered for that cause along with many others.
If International Women’s Day is used as a platform to help the struggle against human rights violations and violence against women then I for one am all for it.
Tomorrow March 8th is International Women’s Day and for the first time the rugby playing women of Ireland and Italy will play an International fixture at the Aviva Stadium. Do you think the IRFU thought of this when the match was arranged?
I would hope not. I would hope that these fine sporting role models are playing in our national stadium because they are the current Grand Slam champions and their exploits and sporting endeavours have earned them that right.
Do I think they should be professional and earn the same as their male counterparts? No, not at the moment!
Now I would like you to go to the top of the article and read my list of “jobs” in reverse order. Does it make me a different person? Am I now a feminist rather than a dutiful wife and mother?
I am neither and yet I am both.
Enjoy tomorrow whether you attend the ICA afternoon tea party in Cappamore or the battle between Ireland and Italy at The Aviva.
PS (The men are playing too)
