“Dads Retire, Moms Never”

(A Tribute on International Women's Day, 2014)

For those of us who are in our middle ages would realize that our Dad has retired from his active work / profession at the age of 60 or so and has more or less settled down spending a sedentary life taking it with leisure, meeting friends and former colleagues, reading newspaper, watching TV, occasionally gardening and pursuing his hobby that he could not while in active service.  However, our mom has also crossed the age of 60 (official superannuation) but lo… , she hasn’t Retired from her work / chores. She continues to perform her regular household chores what she used to do even before crossing the landmark age of 60. The landmark age of SIXTY has not made any difference in her life and probably would not make any difference even at age Seventy, Eighty or thereafter. She would continue to perform her duties and take up the responsibility unabated as if she is still in her Thirties or Forties and perhaps the word ‘Retirement’ does not emerge on her card. Does it mean that she is still young? Does it mean that she never tires? Or is she compelled to work? If so, then is it a self imposed compulsion? Does it mean that ageing is not her cup of soup? Or is she mentally and physically fit and indefatigable?  I do not think that we have a concrete answer to such questions but what we can conclude from this discussion is that while men may retire from their active and professional lives, women do not. Having said that, it also leads us to a conclusion that she is positively ‘Unequal’ and not the same as her men counterparts are.  

Today, 8^th of March as the world celebrates International Women’s Day 2014, lets join hands to Salute those who teach us to be working throughout their lives and never calling it a day (Retirement). The official United Nations theme for International Women's Day 2014 is "Equality for women is progress for all."  To me as a 'Pension and Inclusion' specialist - women are better savers (not necessarily investors) have been proved beyond the shadow of doubts as they always have something or the other for that rainy day which men seldom anticipates. Our experiments on micro-pensions right from April 2006 when we designed and implemented World's first contributory micropension scheme with low income informal sector self employed women of Sewa Bank in Ahmedabad is a live example. The blog does not wish to list out the areas where and what we need to learn from women, but if we introspect and observe them keenly with interest, there is a lot that you and I can ever even imagine. (More on Women’s Propensity to Save on my next blog)

Women's equality has made positive gains but the world is still unequal. International Women's Day celebrates the social, political and economic achievements of women while focusing world attention on areas requiring further action. Each year International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8. The first International Women's Day was held in 1911. Thousands of events occur to mark the economic, political and social achievements of women. Organisations, governments, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporations and the media celebrate the day.

Some groups select their own International Women's Day theme, specific to their local context. For example, the European Parliament's 2013 theme was "Women's response to the crisis" and their 2012 theme "Equal pay for work of equal value". The United Nations declared an annual theme as follows:

- 2013: A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women

- 2012: Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty

- 2011: Equal access to education, training and science and technology

- 2010: Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all

- 2009: Women and men united to end violence against women and girls

- 2008: Investing in Women and Girls

- 2007: Ending Impunity for Violence against Women and Girls

- 2006: Women in decision-making

- 2005: Gender Equality Beyond 2005: Building a More Secure Future

- 2004: Women and HIV/AIDS

- 2003: Gender Equality and the Millennium Development Goals

- 2002: Afghan Women Today: Realities and Opportunities

- 2001: Women and Peace: Women Managing Conflicts

- 2000: Women Uniting for Peace

- 1999: World Free of Violence against Women

- 1998: Women and Human Rights

- 1997: Women at the Peace Table

- 1996: Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future

As I don’t have answers to the questions raised, the story on this blog remains inconclusive. Appreciate comments, views and feedback from readers.