Calling all phenomenal women (and men) #internationalwomensday

It's international women's day, so I started the day by sharing the late, great Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal woman" on facebook. It's one of my personal favourites, describing the absolute wonder of a woman.... Of women everywhere.

We are quite phenomenal us women to be fair, we as a rule, often wear many hats and juggle lots of job titles.....Business owner , leader, colleague, mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, lover ...  (not that the men folk aren't pretty marvelous too of course).

Many of you will know  I've done much of my work with women over the years and in the most part I've found there is a difference in the energy  between working with men and women.
That said I've often said I'm a supporter of people, regardless of gender, race, age, sexual orientation or faith. I am a supporter of fairness, in fact its one of my soul felt values.
So after all those years of campaigning for fairness, from the suffragette movement; at the turn of the century, to the  ford sewing machinists strike of 1968 in Dagenham.... you'd really expect parity between the sexes would you not?

I'm wondering then, why all the phenomenal women out there in the UK will earn potentially £300,000 less than men over their working life.

According to The Guardian in an article published yesterday:
Figures show a gap of £5,732, or 24%, in average full-time annual salaries between women and men – more than four decades after the Equal Pay Act of 1970 was introduced.
Over a career of 52 years, that gap translates into a lifetime earnings shortfall of £298,064 for female employees, according to the analysis by the recruitment company Robert Half.
I wonder how equal is equal?

Personally I've only once or twice in my working life come across inconsistencies in pay with my male colleagues. But sadly it seems the gap still exists.

So today as we recognise #internationalwomensday I hope we reach a time where we can celebrate the differences and the equality of all of the phenomenal women and men out there. We all deserve to be recognised for our gifts, be they the same, similar or different..... be we women, men or transgender...I think that such recognition of equality would be something to really celebrate don't you ?

And Ladies.... this is for you.....the beautiful words of Maya Angelou...

Until next time,
make every moment count.

Lisa xx