2017

Written by : L.R.

Probably most of you don’t know that March 8th is originally called International Working Women’s Day but by time it became International Women’s Day. Many years ago women started to fight for their rights, educational rights and most importantly gender equity.
For years and until today, over the world, too many women and young ladies spend an excessive number of hours on family unit duties—ordinarily more than double the time spent by men and boys. They take care of children, siblings, older family relatives and all the works related to house. Many still think that this is what every woman needs to do and that has to be satisfied with that.

In many cases this unequal division of work is to the detriment of women and girls learning, of paid work, hobbies, or engagement in civic or community leadership. This shapes the standards of advantages and disadvantages, of where women and men are situated in the economy, of what they are talented to do and where they will work.
Here now, I am talking like a girl who dared to study IT and the girl who is now employed in the IT sector. After graduating from high school I had to make one on the most important decisions in life. I grew up in a traditional family in which men have always had higher privileges, deserved or undeserved. In order to recognize my value, in order to prove that we women can be equal to men, I decided to study IT, which was effective as a college for men.

The first day when I came to college was us five girls, surrounded by literally 100 men who have wondered what we are doing here. Listening to male colleagues, their talks and doubts about the woman’s ability to deal with something that is without reason qualified as a male job, gave me the desire and strength to prove just the opposite. It is true that at the beginning was difficult and I had to work hard to convince my colleagues that I am, as a woman, still capable to solve tasks of programming, networks, databases as well as they do. After a while I became better than most men who just thought it was enough that they are men and that will bring them success.

After three years of studying, on graduation day I was proud to prove, first of all to my family and those colleagues that regardless of being a woman I can achieve everything I want. It is important to mention that most of the colleagues who doubted us women are still undergraduate students, so dear men, we women can achieve all we want, but for you it is not enough to be just men, and you have to invest a bit of effort to achieve something in life.
After completing the master study, today I am employed in IT company where they are employed both men and women, but my work colleagues respect me on the basis of what I have achieved in life itself.

Along these lines, dear young ladies, dear ladies, respect yourselves since others will respect as much as you respect yourself. Never let yourself feel less valuable than another. Embrace life and live it the way you want.
This article I would like to close with a quote: “On International Women’s Day, let us all pledge to do everything we can to overcome entrenched prejudice, support engagement and activism, and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment”. – UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.