Women’s Day facts and figures
Rob Terpstra
Issue date: 3/5/02 Section: Features
Money
The average earnings of employed women are still substantially lower than those of men. Even when employed full-time, the earnings of women were only 73 per cent of what men made in 1997.
Source: www.statcan.ca (Women in Canada 2000: a gender-based statistical report)
Crime
• Women tend to be more fearful of being victims of crime than men. In the General Social Survey of 1999, nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of women reported feeling somewhat or very worried while waiting for or using public transportation alone after dark, more than double the proportion of 29 per cent for men. About 29 per cent of women reported being somewhat or very worried if they were home alone in the evening compared to 12 per cent of men. And 18 per cent of women felt somewhat or very unsafe when walking alone in their area after dark, compared with 6 per cent of men.
• In many cases of spousal violence reported in the five years prior to the 1999 General Social Survey, the violence or the threat of violence was so severe that almost four of 10 female victims, or 38 per cent feared for their lives, while the rate for male victims was less than one in 10, or about seven per cent.
Health & education
• Two thirds of the world’s 876 million illiterates are women (2000).
• 20 million unsafe abortions are performed each year and 70,000 women die as a result (1997).
Source: http://www.sigi.org (Sisterhood Is Global Institute)
A brief timeline
United Nations Development Program, IWD, commemorates ordinary women and their struggle for equal rights. Chronological events of how this event came about:
• 1857: March 8, women garment and textile workers in New York City stage a protest against inhumane working conditions, the 12-hour workday and low wages. The marchers are attacked and dispersed by police. Two years later, again in March, these women form their first union.
• 1909: The first National Women’s Day is observed across the United States on Feb. 28. Soon, women in Europe begin celebrating Women’s Day on the last Sunday of February.
• 1977: In December the General Assembly adopts the resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women’s Day has been observed on March 8, since 1975. The Day is traditionally marked with a message from the Secretary-General.
Source: http://www.undp.org
The average earnings of employed women are still substantially lower than those of men. Even when employed full-time, the earnings of women were only 73 per cent of what men made in 1997.
Source: www.statcan.ca (Women in Canada 2000: a gender-based statistical report)
Crime
• Women tend to be more fearful of being victims of crime than men. In the General Social Survey of 1999, nearly two-thirds (64 per cent) of women reported feeling somewhat or very worried while waiting for or using public transportation alone after dark, more than double the proportion of 29 per cent for men. About 29 per cent of women reported being somewhat or very worried if they were home alone in the evening compared to 12 per cent of men. And 18 per cent of women felt somewhat or very unsafe when walking alone in their area after dark, compared with 6 per cent of men.
• In many cases of spousal violence reported in the five years prior to the 1999 General Social Survey, the violence or the threat of violence was so severe that almost four of 10 female victims, or 38 per cent feared for their lives, while the rate for male victims was less than one in 10, or about seven per cent.
Health & education
• Two thirds of the world’s 876 million illiterates are women (2000).
• 20 million unsafe abortions are performed each year and 70,000 women die as a result (1997).
Source: http://www.sigi.org (Sisterhood Is Global Institute)
A brief timeline
United Nations Development Program, IWD, commemorates ordinary women and their struggle for equal rights. Chronological events of how this event came about:
• 1857: March 8, women garment and textile workers in New York City stage a protest against inhumane working conditions, the 12-hour workday and low wages. The marchers are attacked and dispersed by police. Two years later, again in March, these women form their first union.
• 1909: The first National Women’s Day is observed across the United States on Feb. 28. Soon, women in Europe begin celebrating Women’s Day on the last Sunday of February.
• 1977: In December the General Assembly adopts the resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions. For the United Nations, International Women’s Day has been observed on March 8, since 1975. The Day is traditionally marked with a message from the Secretary-General.
Source: http://www.undp.org
