Happy International Women's Day!

Hi Everyone!

Happy International Women's Day to all! Hope that, wherever you are, you are doing something for YOU today! If you're in Toronto, it's a balmy 12 degrees Celsius on March 8--you can't beat that! Take a walk, ride a bike or sit outside with a coffee for a few minutes. If you want to really energize yourself, join me at 6 today for a fabulous Nia class with Jenn Hicks at 918 Bathurst. It's only $15 for 75 minutes that I look forward to every Monday! Check out http://www.jennhicks.ca/ to learn more about Jenn and Nia.

On a more sobering note, here are some points to ponder on International Women's Day (my stats from the Metro, March 8, Toronto edition):

* This day has been observed since 1911 to mark women's achievements everywhere. It is an official holiday in many countries worldwide, including China, Russia and Vietnam. Hmmm . . . why not in Canada and the U.S.? Are women here considered so well off that we don't need such a day?

*Women in many so-called "well off" areas are still doing low-wage work. In Toronto, for example, women between the ages of 25 and 44 earn 65.7 per cent of the average earnings of men, only 3.7 percent up from 1998.

*Although there are 2.5 billion men and 2.5 billion women around the world of working age, only 1.2 billion women are employed, compared to 1.8 billion men--that's a difference of 600 million jobs.

*Forty-eight percent of women remain economically inactive, compared to 22 per cent of men.

So . . . any thoughts on this? The good, the bad, the ugly? Let's hear what YOU are doing to celebrate IWD, and what YOU would like to see happen!