"The rising of the women means the rising of us all"

On Tuesday women crossed bridges all over the world to celebrate International Women's Day.  I joined them too, but to demonstrate more than celebrate. Despite significant gains in the hundred years since Clara Zetkin proposed International Working Women's Day to focus on our rights and needs, we still have a long way to go.

Economic improvements over the century have not done as much for women as for men.  In far too many countries and societies women's security and economic conditions have been sliding backwards in the past 25 years.  Education opportunities for girls lag behind the provisions for boys in many countries, while jobs and pay remain far from equal.