I once had someone comment on that anonymous,
uncensored platform called social media that she took offense to the term
“farmwife” and thought I should change it. I had to laugh and think for a
moment before responding. I understand the farmwife feminist movement. These
women feel the need to speak out against tradition where it refers to the
perfect farmer’s wife. They are fighting for the right to do things their own
way, while living and working alongside their farmer-partner. They don’t want
to feel pressured to meet the expectations of a farmer’s wife as set forth by
previous generations: the pie-baking, early-waking homebody who keeps a
spotless house, perfectly behaved children and a happy, well-fed husband in
hand-mended clothes. But the term “farmwife” fits perfectly with what my
stories are trying to convey: the experiences of a non-farm-raised woman who
married a farmer. It’s sort of tongue-in-cheek, if you will. I’m no one’s
stereotypical idea of a farmer’s wife.
March 8 is International Women’s Day. We have come a
long way since the first IWD in 1911, when the Suffragettes were getting things
done. Still, the World Economic Forum's 2017 Global Gender Gap Report findings telling us that gender parity is
over 200 years away. If we want things to be different for our future
generations, we need to set the course for equality now.
This year’s theme for
International Women’s Day is #PressforProgress. Global
activism for women's equality is gathering momentum with movements like #MeToo and #TimesUp.
How can you join this groundswell to
#PressforProgress? Step One: Know What You Bring to the Table. Believe in your
own contribution to the group effort. Insist on equal pay for equal work, fair
treatment and respect – on the job and outside work. For generations, women around
the world have been taking chances – some of them quite risky – that result in
a brighter future for themselves and those around them.
My grandmother Mabel recently celebrated her 95th birthday. Back in the 50’s, she quickly rose from an entry-level accounting
position to the top of the Finance Department at the Supreme Court of Canada.
Knowing the way women were treated in the workplace back then, I asked her how
she managed to succeed like that. She said that as a junior financing clerk she
was getting ready to do an important presentation to upper management one day.
As she stepped into the conference room, one of her superiors took the file
from her hand, thanked her for her hard work, said that he would be presenting
it to the team, and asked her to sit up front so that she could take notes... She calmly and firmly took the file back from
him, catching him completely by surprise. She told him that he could sit up
front if he liked, while she did her presentation, so that he could take notes.
Grandma knew what she brought to the table. There are
inspiring stories of women game-changers around the world, and the men who are
getting out of their way and supporting them as they do what they do best.
Many of us look around and think, we live in Canada.
Women are treated equally here. It’s part of our labour code and our legal
system. But then we have someone make an inappropriate comment about how we are
dressed, or we are faced with unfair demands at work. If a situation feels a
bit off, ask yourself if a man would be put in the same situation. Some men
have always treated women with respect – revering them for their talents and
celebrating their successes. But many people – men and women included, have
been raised to believe that women, in our highly emotional states, just can’t
take on the same roles as men, because of the logical thinking that is required
to get the work done.
200 years to gender parity. That is a long time from
now – but if we want a different world for our great, great grandchildren, we
need to make changes in our own lives today. #PressforProgress. Demand respect
and fair treatment. Calmly correct someone when they mistakenly assume that
because you are a woman, you can’t focus on the task and do the best job. Be
Like Mabel. Know What You Bring to the Table.
They say the definition of a farmer’s wife is a woman
who can mend the jeans and the fence that ripped ‘em. Well, I can do neither.
And that’s ok. In this partnership, I am respected.
-30-
Email: dianafisher1@gmail.com
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