“Hearts starve as well as bodies; bread and roses, bread and roses,” concludes the anthem of the International Women’s Day March and Rally. The song is said to have originated with a 1912 textile workers’ strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a strike largely led by women who demanded both bread (decent working conditions) and roses (gender equality).
Nearly a century later, their call still resonates.
According to Chantal Sundaram, one of the organizers of this year’s march, “70 percent of minimum-wage workers are women. It really highlights the struggle women face, not being on equal footing economically.”
Connie Guberman, of U of T’s Status of Women Office, also sees unequal earning power as a key issue.
“Women cross-culturally feel entitled to equal pay, but there are a range of challenges because society isn’t equipped to bring down its barriers. The mandate of my office is to be a catalyst for change, to make sure that vast issues are covered somewhere in the university, if not by us.
“One of the ways we shouldn’t measure equality is by numbers. Greater numbers of women enrolled doesn’t necessarily mean equality has been achieved. It’s the quality of their experience, income after university. Women are leading with larger debt loads, they take longer to pay off debt, and have complications in accessing education.”
The Status of Women Office, which promotes research and interdisciplinary work on women’s issues, will hold a series of workshops, lectures and roundtable discussions on Thursday.
On Saturday, March 10, the 29th IWD March and Rally will kick off at 11 a.m., at the OISE auditorium, followed by a march from OISE to Ryerson at 1 p.m. and a fair at Ryerson Student Centre.
“Women play the main role, but men are welcome to march with us,” said Sundaram, adding, “And sometimes they don’t realize that they are.”
