Highlights of the March 8 events in Oslo

There is an irony in the fact that Norway, which is ranked as the second most female friendly nation (2018 ranking*1), is so dedicated to the International Women’s Day. Have they not already achieved equality? The strong engagement is a good barometer for Norway’s general commitment to support women’s rights. The laws here do support women both in the workplace and home. Norway, traditionally a farming nation, recognized the contributions of farmer wives, decades ago, by giving them the status of a regular workers, entitled them to increased social security and workman’s benefits. Now girls are taken over farms since the law on inheritance has changed, favoring the first-born child, replacing the first born “male” as the heir. The law now also states that all corporate boards must be minimum 40% female; however, women tend not to rise as rapidly as men on the corporate ladder. A major newspaper recently reported that more men are going into female dominated vocations, such as nursing and teaching, and a larger percentage of women now seek higher education than men. 

Michael Flood, Queensland University of Technology

Young men who conform to traditional definitions of manhood are more likely to suffer harm to themselves, and do harm to others, according to a new survey of Australian men aged 18 to 30.

This is the first major Australian survey to map ideals of masculinity among young men, commissioned as part of the Jesuit Social Services’ Men’s Project, which is dedicated to helping boys and men live respectful, accountable and fulfilling lives.

The researchers surveyed 1,000 young men on their attitudes toward seven pillars of traditional manhood: self-sufficiency, toughness, physical attractiveness, rigid gender roles, heterosexuality and homophobia, hypersexuality, and aggression and control over women. These represent what we call the “Man Box”, or the ideals of manhood that can be both influential and restrictive to young men.

The men were asked about their perceptions of societal messages about manhood and their own endorsement of these messages.

Our findings showed that many young men remain greatly influenced by these societal messages of what it means to be a man. For example, young men were particularly likely to agree with statements that society expects men to act strong (69%), fight back when pushed (60%) and never say no to sex (56%).

However, some traditional ideals seem to be dropping away. Few young men agreed that society tells them they should use violence to get respect (35%), straight men should shun gay men as friends (36%), boys shouldn’t learn how to cook and clean (38%), and men shouldn’t do household chores (39%).

Read more: Masculinity should not be defined by the Kavanaugh hearings

Today as we celebrate International Women’s Day, let us remember the great women in history whose shoulders we stand on. Let us celebrate their achievements and acknowledge the sacrifices they made to get us where we are today.

This has indeed been a historic year for women. We have elected a record number of women to Congress and we have more women of color serving in office than ever before! But this can only be a beginning. Massive inequalities still remain. Women in the United States of America do not even have basic equality with men written into our constitution.

So let us honor the great women who came before us by pushing forward on passage of the Equal Rights Amendment. And let us vow to never give up until our daughters have exactly the same rights, opportunities, and status as our sons! 

WASHINGTON, January 24, 2019 – Democrats Abroad, the largest organization for Americans living overseas, fully supports the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and is calling on state legislatures across the U.S. to move toward its ratification. The action comes just days after a subcommittee in the Virginia House of Delegates rejected the ERA proposal, and after the weekend of the Women’s March, which saw advocates across the country and around the world rally in support of the ERA and gender equality.

“Over eighty-five percent (85%) of the world’s nations protect women’s rights as part of their constitution. The United States is not one of them,” noted Democrats Abroad’s ERA Project Coordinator Shari Temple. “As Americans abroad, many of us live in countries where we have more rights than women do in the United States. Ratifying the ERA is a not a partisan issue but rather a human rights issue: equality of rights under U.S law must not be denied or abridged on account of sex.”

In 2018, Democrats Abroad unanimously passed a resolution calling upon the Democratic Party to support the ratification of the ERA. This has galvanized Americans abroad in support of the organization’s work toward gender equality.

Members are reaching out to legislatures in the thirteen states that have yet to ratify the ERA, while advocating on social media and organizing live events worldwide. This past weekend, Democrats Abroad joined Women’s Marches and hosted events supporting the ERA in countries including Canada, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Spain, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Singapore and Thailand. Handwritten petitions are also being circulated among Americans in at least seven countries.

Like all constitutional amendments, the ERA must be adopted by three-fourths of states in order to be ratified, a step that advocates have been fighting for since Congress proposed the ERA 47 years ago. This week, a GOP-led subcommittee in the Virginia House rejected the proposal that could have led to Virginia becoming that 38th state. While advocates hope it may be picked up in the full committee, this would most likely require significant public pressure.

“Opponents of the ERA make threats of what could happen when women and men attain equality under U.S. law. With our experience of living, working and raising families in countries where equality for women is a given, we know this is pure nonsense,” explained Anne Hesse, Chair of the Democrats Abroad Global Women’s Caucus. “Enshrining gender equality in the Constitution would benefit not only American women but society as a whole. We call upon state legislatures across the U.S. to affirm our equal rights and ratify the Equal Rights Amendment.” 

Today we march in cities around the world, powered by a massive blue wave of hundreds of diverse new women legislators, thousands of GWC members, and tens of thousands of activist men and women who support our cause.

Watch this short video with scenes from previous marches and be inspired!

Sign up to be a member of our caucus and add your voice to our call to free both men and women from the constraints of the patriarchy that is holding all of us back.

Together, we will move this world in a different direction!

Since the 2016 presidential election, the Democrats Abroad Global Women’s Caucus and its members have marched in unison to support, protect and secure our rights as women.

We will march in cities around the world again this weekend, independently and proudly, powered by the massive blue wave of hundreds of diverse new women legislators, thousands of GWC members, and tens of thousands of activist men and women who support our cause.

It is important to state NOW and LOUDLY that we vigorously condemn all hate speech by any individuals or organizations for whatever reason and by whomever and wherever it may occur. Women’s rights are too important to be diverted by the actions, prejudices or ignorance of any individual leaders or participants in any movement.

Please join us to this weekend in marches around the world!

· We march in support of the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution to secure for American women the same equality under the law that many women around the world already enjoy!

· We march to maintain and advance our rights to health care!

· We march to show the world that we must stop violence against us, stop inequality of pay and power and stop the infringement of our rights as equal human beings!

Join us and add your voice to our call to free both men and women from the constraints and abuses of the patriarchy that are holding all of us back!

In solidarity,
Your GWC Team

Join our ERA Photo and Video Campaign!

We are SO CLOSE now to getting the ERA ratified! The Virginia general assembly starts their session on January 9^th and the Virginia Equal Means Equal team needs our help right now!

They would love to have some photos and videos of Americans living abroad who support ERA to use to win over some votes. So if you could take a photo holding a sign and/or make a 30-45 second video, that would be appreciated. Here are the simple guidelines.

If possible, they would like by the end of the week so they can put something together for a big event in Richmond on Jan 8. So if you could send something in before then, that would be great. However, if you miss this first deadline, we have also been asked by both Arizona and North Carolina for the same thing and they do not need as soon. Just send as soon as you can!

So – show your support of women and equal rights by creating a photo and/or video. Send the photo and video links to era@democratsabroad.org

THANK YOU for your help! 

The Women's March theme for this year is “Stop Violence Against Women.”
Our DA Global Women’s caucus will focus on achieving this goal by working through our legal system to secure equality under the law.

But you don’t have to wait for our January 19^th world-wide marches to make your voice heard!

You can do something TODAY to help fight back against the gradual erosion of our rights that we have seen over the last two years.
Help us to Stop Betsy De Vos from imposing terrible new rules for sexual assault survivors on US college campuses.
 You can read more about her proposal here.

We are encouraging all our caucus members to be part of a National Women’s Law Center post card/letter-writing campaign to stop her, that ends January 28^th. Please read more about it here.

As we prepare ourselves to march in the streets on January 19^th, we can a first step NOW!
 But we have only until January 28th to file comments. Your hand-written note can make a difference!

BE THE CHANGE!

MANON GARCIA SPEAKS ON WHY WOMEN VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP: CONSENT AND SUBMISSION IN AMERICAN POLITICS.

The DAF Women's Caucus invited MANON GARCIA, a young French philosopher, specialized in feminist philosophy, and Assistant Professor at The University of Chicago, and an activist as well. She writes about “consent and submission” and has a lot to say about our U.S. political scene: Trump, Kavanaugh, and machismo in general. She rocked the packed audience.

Follow this link to hear the audio recording of this fascinating event!

Each election brings women one step closer to equal political representation. 

Thank you to all female candidates who ran for office. We acknowledge all the effort it took to get your name on a ballot! 

We also congratulate the women within the Democratic Party who now represent us in government! 

Here is a list of our 122 winning female candidates, and counting!