By Renata Cuppen,
Marketing & Comms Coordinator at Vivaro Media, Canada
I am not talking about Women's Day today.
We might live in various places in the world. Our cultures and backgrounds are not the same. You might be a man, a woman… Honestly, we are distinct is so many levels! And that is great.
The thing is that there is something bothering me lately, and you have thought of it at some point too. Your reality is different than the reality you could experience in other places. For good or bad, circumstances are different.
An example: one of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Montreal six years ago was how safe I felt on the street day and night. No one would follow or bother or threaten me. I felt free.
Such a different scenario than the one in Latin America, you might say! And you are right. What we live here in Canada is not what I was used to back in my country. In Brazil, I worried being alone. I witnessed daily incoherences and massive gaps in society.
Different realities.
But let us go back to Canada. Up to a certain point, it has not always been all good. And from a woman's perspective, Canadians have gone (and are still going, in some cases) through most of the usual topics: the right to vote, to drive a car, to own a business, to be in politics, to study, to have access to the health system, to be protected from domestic violence, to have a voice, to be free.
Today, even with pending subjects, women play crucial roles in the Canadian society. Check these remarkable examples:
- Viola Desmond - A civil rights activist and entrepreneur who fought against racial segregation in Nova Scotia and is the first Canadian woman to appear alone on a Canadian banknote.
- Roberta Bondar - The first Canadian woman astronaut and the first neurologist in space.
- Margaret Atwood - A critically acclaimed author and poet who has been recognized internationally for her work, including "The Handmaid's Tale."
- Julie Payette - An astronaut, engineer, and former Governor General of Canada.
- Chantal Petitclerc - A Paralympic athlete and politician who has won multiple gold medals in wheelchair racing and has been appointed to the Senate of Canada.
- Sheila Watt-Cloutier - A climate and human rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee who has advocated for the rights of Inuit communities and for global action on climate change.
Circumstances around the world are not the same.
Y los hombres y las mujeres no somos iguales. Pero ser diferente no es algo terrible. Al contrario. Nos permite ser mejores versiones de nosotros mismos haciendo lo que queramos.
If you read until here, thank you. It means a lot to me that you cared.
I promised I would not talk about Women's Day, and I did not! Our differences should not be a one-day topic. We should care about them all year long.
So, what have you been doing to value the differences between people lately?
To learn more about what happened on March 8 in Canada, check this news:
