Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

Have a Green International Women’s Day, March 8

By Marci Henzi (Allegheny)

International Women’s Day (IWD) will be celebrated on Friday, March 8, this year.  But did you know that the first “Women’s Day” (No, not the still famous magazine first published in 1931 as a free leaflet for A&P grocery shoppers, almost exclusively women.) was celebrated on February 28, 1909, and that it was organized by the Socialist Party of America in NY City? Then it caught on throughout Europe, and in 1917, March 8 was declared a national holiday in Russia, right after women gained suffrage. That date stuck, and the day was associated with movements of the far left until the late ‘60’s women’s movement and the day’s adoption by the United Nations in 1977.

Now IWD has become more of a celebration of womanhood in the West, but in other parts of the world it is still marked by protest and calls for radical change. This twenty-first century contrast in meaning and significance has not gone without criticism.  Claims have been made that Western corporations have commercialized International Women’s Day and diluted its meaning. But still, the United Nations declares a yearly theme. This year’s theme is based on the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) priority theme: “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective,” or simply, “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress.”

And did you know that there are colors associated with International Women’s Day? They are purple -- signifying justice, dignity and loyalty to cause; green -- symbolizing hope; and white -- signifying purity. 

Maybe you are thinking of one of the Green Party’s Ten Key Values (TKV). And, I wish you would this IWD!  Here it is, TKV # 7: Feminism and Gender Equality.

“We have inherited a social system based on male domination of politics and economics.  We call for the replacement of the cultural ethics of domination and control with cooperative ways of interacting that respect differences of opinion and gender. Human values such as gender equality, interpersonal responsibility, and honesty must be developed with moral conscience. We recognize that the processes of determining our decisions and actions are just as important as achieving the outcomes we want.”

Please consider the intersection of TKV #7 and TKV #3: Ecological Wisdom through Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens by Greta Gaard, https://tupress.temple.edu/books/ecological-politics

Hoping you remember to have a Green International Women’s Day! 

Marci Henzi has been a Green Party of Allegheny County (GPOAC) delegate to the Green Party of Pennsylvania State Committee since 2019. In the past, she was also a member of the GPOAC Executive Committee.

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party which stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA.

For more information:

International Women’s Day, March 8, United Nations,
https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day

Green Party Ten Key Values, Green Party of Allegheny County,
https://www.alleghenygreens.org/about/ten-key-values

Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens by Greta Gaard, Temple University Press, 1998, https://tupress.temple.edu/books/ecological-politics

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Green Party of Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, February 20, 2023

CONTACT: 

Chris Robinson, Communication Team Co-Leader

215-843-4256 and [email protected]

PA Greens Celebrate International Women’s Day, March 8

By Tina Olson.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

-- Alice Walker

Women in America have come a long way despite the work that still needs to be done. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) will be “Embrace Equity.” The Green Party of Pennsylvania (GPPA, https://www.gpofpa.org/) supports the principles of this day of recognition on March 8 because it adheres to our Ten Key Values. 

We believe that in order to confront inequalities we must include the diverse intersections many people cross. This includes gender, gender identity, race, religion, sexual orientation, mental, and physical challenges. Our circumstances are not always equal. There is no equality without equity. “Embracing Equity” means recognizing and supporting policies that lift everyone up to a level playing field. 

In the big picture, it will be women who blaze this trail for future generations. It was women who plowed through the decades with protests for the equal treatment that we deserve. None of this was easy and sometimes the gains feel slow like stone work. Nevertheless, each stone is building a new inclusive world.

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are different from my own.”

-- Audrey Lorde

Unbelievable as it may seem, there are still states within the U.S. which have yet to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). This would enshrine equality and equity among vulnerable groups, including people of color and transgender individuals who have been the recent target of escalated hate. It will also create the basis for equity because the ERA recognizes differences in how women are treated within our patriarchal society.

Additionally, we will continue the push for equity by understanding pay gaps. According to the US Government Accountability Office in 2021, women earned $0.82 for every one dollar men made. Hispanic or Latina women earned about $.58, and Black women earned about $.63 for every dollar white men earned. This is a clear indication that our work is not done. We need equal pay for equal work. The Green Party supports the path to a more egalitarian society. As we fight for ourselves, we fight for women across the U.S. and the world. 

In the past year, we have seen some rights be challenged as Roe V Wade was overturned. This sliding backwards came as many Democrats became complacent while being chummy with the Republican Party, which would rather see women forced to give birth. In Florida, Republicans are banning books and Critical Race Theory. They would rather see our children never learn the importance of equity while drinking from a sippy cup of watered-down U.S. history. We see these negotiations and compromises becoming more invasive to women and other marginalized communities. This cannot continue, we need proportional representation so that Greens can hold the line for our freedoms.

“We don't need a seat at the table, we need a new table!”

-- Lilly Saini Singh.

As we celebrate women on March 8, it is important to understand the difference between equality and equity. Equity is essential for equality. Our job is far from done.

Tina Olson (Northampton) was co-chair of the GPPA Steering Committee during 2021. 

The Green Party of PA, https://www.gpofpa.org, is an independent political party that stands in opposition to the two corporate parties. GPPA candidates promote public policy based on the Green Party’s Four Pillars: grassroots democracy, nonviolence, ecological wisdom, and social justice/equal opportunity. For further information about GPPA, please email [email protected]. Please follow GPPA on social media: Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/gpofpa/; Instagram, https://www.instagram.com/pagreenparty/; and Twitter, https://twitter.com/GreenPartyofPA. 

For more information, please see:

“Our Ten Key Values,” Green Party of the U.S.,
https://www.gp.org/ten_key_values

Equal Rights Amendment, https://www.eracoalition.org/ 

Women in the Workforce, U.S. Government Accountability Office, December 15, 2022,
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-106041  

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