International Women's Day.

Today is... International Women's Day.

Which gets me pondering...

There's a lot of International Whatever Days that make me smile, and I happily celebrate them (if only by tweeting about them or blogging, in some cases). Like Star Wars Day (May the Fourth, of course), or Talk like a Pirate Day, or Pi Day (March fourteen. Coming soon!). These are fun, and funny, and they can bring smiles to faces, which is all good. Sometimes they're an excuse to get a fancy pie (or make one), or geek out with friends.

On the other hand, there's also the serious days that serve as reminders that there are issues we, as humans, need to solve. Like cancer, or depression. These days serve a purpose, and they are a good thing to have. War Remembrance days fall into sort of the same category, for me - they remind us that we, as humans, should maybe do better in the future.

Women's Day, though, just like Mother's Day (which is an even worse thing as it has gotten so commercialised) - they make me sad in a way that the other serious days don't. Goodness, we're living in the 21st century. Shouldn't we all have realised by now that while yes, there are differences between men and women (obviously, and not only the external appearance), both men and women are human beings who have something to contribute to society? That both men and women formed history, and made important contributions? That men and women deserve the same chances, the same opportunities, the same pay rates? Which, unfortunately, is still not the case. We're all still caught in biases and prejudice, deeply ingrained due to the culture that we grew up in. Finding those biases and blind spots is not easy - it does take effort, and sometimes they are so subtle it's nearly impossible to find them out and counter them. So men and women today are still not considered equal - and that's sad.

On the upside - the fact that there is a Day for this hints at humanity somehow being aware that this is an issue, and that it should be fixed. So. Happy International Women's Day, everyone. May we not need a day like that in the future anymore.