Next week is International Women’s Week. I wrote the following for inclusion in our campus union newsletter, in response to a call for articles on inspiring women:
\nMany years ago, when I was a student here at Vanier, I wrote an item for the school newspaper, The Phoenix, about REAL Women. For those who may not recognize the group, REAL Women (Realistic, Equal, Active, for Life) is an \u201calternative\u201d women\u2019s group that primarily champions women\u2019s right to be stay-at-home mothers \u2013 a noble cause, certainly, but at the time I was writing, the group\u2019s language was a lot more controversial, and their message included condemnation of women who chose to work, pursue higher education and challenging careers, or engage in oral sex, among other grievous sins.
\nMy response then, as it is now, is that women like my mother \u2013 who, at the tender age of 23 found herself a single parent, in a country an ocean away from her family \u2013 are the real women that inspire me. My mother worked full-time to support me, and even after she met and married my step-father, she continued to work, because she loved her job (she retired more than a little reluctantly a few years ago). She was a driving force in my education, and encourages my sister and me to pursue our careers with all our passion. Of course she loves our husbands and her grandchildren, but she has never suggested \u2013 because it would never occur to her \u2013 that we\u2019re doing any disservice to our families by exploring life outside the domestic sphere.
\nI have learned in recent years that my mother\u2019s extraordinarily progressive philosophy is genetic. My grandmother, born shortly after the First World War, left school at 14 to earn a living and help support her family, which she did for eleven years before she married my grandfather. After her six children were all in school, she went back, finished high school, and got her teacher\u2019s license, and taught elementary school until she retired at 63, the mandatory age at the time. She\u2019s still going strong at 87, living on her own, playing competitive bridge and taking the occasional cruise around the Mediterranean.
\nShortly after they were married, my grandfather said to my grandmother \u201cMary, our family has always voted Labour, and now that you\u2019re in the family, you will too.\u201d My grandmother\u2019s reply? \u201cEdward, women like Emmeline Pankhurst didn\u2019t starve themselves and chain themselves to railings so you could have two votes.\u201d She never did vote Labour, either.
\nThere are so many inspirational women around the world, making changes and leading extraordinary lives \u2013 but I am most inspired by, and most thankful for, my Mum and my Gran.
\nHappy International Women’s Week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Next week is International Women’s Week. I wrote the following for inclusion in our campus union newsletter, in response to a call for articles on inspiring women: Many years ago, when I was a student here at Vanier, I wrote an item for the school newspaper, The Phoenix, about REAL Women. For those who may … <\/p>\n