For many, it will be just another Friday, that elusive hump before the work week is finally over and they are free to enjoy their weekend as they please.
But it is not just any old Friday — it is a Friday with significance.
It is a day to take stock of those near and far, and the role they play in making your world a better place as they continue to push for equality.
I think of the likes of Raelene Castle, Kereyn Smith — who was recently inducted into the Netball New Zealand hall of fame — and Sarai Bareman, who have spent hours fighting for the betterment of women in sport.
There is the Tania Dalton Foundation bringing through the next generation of women’s sports stars as a homage to one of New Zealand’s most effervescent netballers, and Women in Sport Aotearoa changing the landscape to make sure women are not only visible, but influential, in sport.
There are the countless advocates, academics, researchers, and administrators who do not take no for an answer when working towards the betterment of our sporting environments.
And those who think outside the box like Jenny Nguyen, who became increasingly frustrated at establishments not screening women’s sport and opened her own bar, The Sports Bra (yes, with that spelling), in Portland, dedicated to showing women’s sports and providing an environment to empower women to be involved in sport.
The demand for a businesses like Nguyen’s is real: it made $1 million in the first eight months after opening the doors.
Brazilian football clubs Coritiba and Athletico Paranaense turned a sanction to play in front of empty stadiums, due to a fan brawl at their game, into something liberating when the court allowed only women and children — boys under 12 — to attend their games last year.
It started with 9000 spectators, and rose to 32,000 and 37,000 fans at their final games, reflecting an environment where women are empowered to support their teams.
International Women’s Day — and women’s history month, for that matter — offer the chance to embrace everything that comes with being a woman.
But underneath the rose-coloured glasses, and the time spent reflecting on how far we have come, it is also a reminder we still have so much left to fight for.
And fight we must — we cannot let the efforts of those who came before be in vain — for a fairer future for women and girls in their chosen sports.
Fight for the exposure, the funding, the opportunities, the seats in the board room, the chance to play, research and be involved in sport any way we damn well please.
The buck must not stop at one day with a fancy title.
Here’s to strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.
