Gender parity in the new European Commission is a huge success, as is the number of countries reaching parity for their MEPs; but, for true gender equality to exist, women must have equal access and roles in all levels of government including municipal, national and supranational.

Brexit Flags (CreativeCommons) “Flags outside Parliament” by ChiralJon is licensed under CC BY 2.0

As the UK continues to Brexit, we’ll continue to look for the women missing from the national conversation.

New Zealand’s actions for gender and Indigenous inclusion are working, it is now just a matter of ensuring Indigenous women have the same voice as their male and non-Indigenous counterparts. 

To achieve progress in women’s representation in many countries, including Brazil, a change in systems which enable and support the disenfranchisement of women and minorities is needed.

“My young men are to lay aside their weapons; they are to take up the work of women; they will plow the field and raise the crops; for them I see a future, but my women, they to whom we owe everything, what is there for them to do? I see nothing! You are a woman; have pity on my women when everything is taken from them.”

Yes, Women Won, but Their Fight for Gender Parity is Far from Over

In a speech to the International Council of Women in 1888, suffragette and anthropologist, Alice Fletcher said “I crave for my Indian sisters, your help, your patience, and your unfailing labors, to hasten the day when the laws of the land shall know neither male nor female, but grant to all equal rights and equal justice.” In the 131 years following Alice Fletcher’s speech, women in general have gained a great many rights, but the Haudenosaunee women have lost many of theirs, and there remains an upward battle for equal justice.

To sum up the importance of the event, Congressman Beyer noted that “when women succeed, America succeeds,” and this is something to keep in mind as we continue #FightingForEquality.

Congressman Don Beyer (VA-8) with Jane Fonda (left) and Megan Beyer (right) on Oct. 12, 2019.

The Sudanese Women’s Union persists in their hope for a more equal society, stating “long live the Sudanese women’s strife to become partners in the transitional period.”

International Women's Day in Abyei, Sudan: "International Women's Day in Abyei" by NewsHour is licensed under CC BY NC 2.0