PHOTO: REUTERS
March 8 marks International Women's Day, with festivals, concerts and exhibitions among the numerous events planned around the world to celebrate the achievements of women in society. The annual event has been held since the early 1900s and traditionally promotes a different theme each year, with this year's edition calling on people to #BeBoldForChange and push for a more gender-inclusive working world. Reuters photographers have been speaking with women in a range of professions around the world about their experiences of gender inequality.
Karachi, Pakistan
Mehwish Ekhlaque, 26, a bike rider and trainer, said: "When I planned a Pakistan Bike Tour many of my male colleagues gave me a piece of advice not to do it as it's neither safe nor easy for a woman. But I did it."
PHOTO: REUTERSLa Paz, Bolivia
Elizabeth Mamani, 36, reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination (from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events). To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," she said.
PHOTO: REUTERSSan Salvador, El Savador
Rosa Amelia Mejia Reyes, 35, a newspaper seller, said: "As a woman I have suffered many things, physical abuse of many people, I have suffered discrimination for selling on the street, even from my family. But in spite of everything, as a woman and as a single mother I have raised my children, I have been father and mother at the same time."
PHOTO: REUTERSMontevideo, Uruguay
Ana Maria del Verdun Suarez, 27, a police officer, said: "More women should be able to have jobs that traditionally were considered only for men. I believe that discrimination comes sometimes from all of us, it comes from the inside. There are already many professions that were exclusively male and are now performed by women."
PHOTO: REUTERSRome, Italy
Rosalina Dallago, 52, poses for a photograph at her shoe-shine shop: "My customers see me as a professional before they see me as a woman," said Dallago. "Mothers should instil a sense of gender equality in their sons," she said.
PHOTO: REUTERSBeurizot, France
Emilie Jeannin, 37, a cow breeder: "Once I could not help laughing when an agricultural advisor asked me, where the boss was, when I was standing right in front of him. I can assure you that the meeting got very quickly cut short!," Jeannin said. "Being a breeder is seen as a man’s job. In the past women were usually doing the administrative work or low level tasks. People need to be more open minded. This change needs to happen everywhere not just on the fields."
PHOTO: REUTERSBelgrade, Serbia
Ivana, a 32-year-old community manager, smiles at her home where she works: "Mainly you can see these (gender) gaps in state companies, which are relics of socialism. It is that standard belief where women are 'the best' at being secretaries," she said.
PHOTO: REUTERSTbilisi, Georgia
Military pilot captain Ekaterine Kvlividze, 30, who joined Georgian Air Forces in 2007, said: "There were some difficulties at the beginning, I felt some irony, cynicism. I felt they did not appreciate me. But, thank God, during the last 10 years society has changed and nowadays a woman pilot is a normal thing."
PHOTO: REUTERSIstanbul, Turkey
Serpil Cigdem, 44, an engine driver, said: "When I applied for a job 23 years ago as an engine driver, I was told that it is a profession for men. I knew that during the written examination even if I got the same results with a male candidate, he would have been chosen. That’s why I worked hard to pass the exam with a very good result ahead of the male candidates. In my opinion, gender inequality starts in our minds saying it’s a male profession or it’s a men job."
PHOTO: REUTERSAlmaty, Kazakhstan
Julia Argunova, 36, mountaineering instructor, said: "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professional task is to teach safe mountaineering."
PHOTO: REUTERSSheremetyevo, Russia
Pilot Maria Uvarovskaya poses for a photograph in A320 flight simulator at the Aeroflot training centre at Sheremetyevo airport. "Much more can be done by the women themselves to solve such problems (gender inequality)," she said.
PHOTO: REUTERSBeijing, China
Deng Qiyan, 47, a mother of three and a decoration worker at contraction sites, said: "Sometimes (gender inequality) happens. But we cannot do anything about that. After all, you have to digest all those unhappy things and carry on."
PHOTO: REUTERSKathmandu, Nepal
Januka Shrestha, 25, a Tuk Tuk driver, said: "There is no difference in a vehicle driven by a woman and man. While driving on the road people sometimes try to dominate a vehicle especially when they see a woman driving it. People have even used foul language toward me. When this happens I keep quiet and work even harder to prove that we are as capable as men."
PHOTO: REUTERSTaipei, Taiwan
Yuniko Chung, 24, a video game broadcaster, said: "I always hear people say that they never watch female gaming broadcasters as they rely only on their appearance rather than skills. I am not that type of broadcaster. I can play along with men. I am not using my face and my gender as advantage."
PHOTO: REUTERSAmman, Jordan
Khawla Sheikh, 54, a plumber and a certified trainer: "Housewives are more comfortable to have a woman plumber in their house in the absence of their husbands," said Sheikh. "To tackle gender inequality, I think that all operating sectors must provide equal opportunities for men and women in all fields and each woman must believe in her capabilities and skills that she has in order to convince the others."
PHOTO: REUTERSHasaka, Syria
Laila Sterk, 22, a Syrian Democratic Forces female fighter: "Before becoming a fighter, I was suffering from inequality in society. But after joining the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), I didn't encounter that anymore," said Sterk. This is due to the fact that when men want to join the SDF they attend educational courses about women fighting alongside them. Therefore the woman fighter leads the military campaigns just like any man."
PHOTO: REUTERSCairo, Egypt
Samah Abdelaty, 38, a writer and a chief of the investigations department at Al Watan Newspaper, said: "On the issue of gender equality in my field I do not remember any discrimination against me working in the field of journalism."
PHOTO: REUTERSSidi Bou Said, Tunisia
Chrifa Nimri, 69, a fisherwoman said: "At the beginning of my fishing career all the world told me that the trade was for men but now all my colleges respect and call me captain."
PHOTO: REUTERSMexico City, Mexico
Jauna Diaz, 43, a street sweeper: "In my previous job my boss gave preference to male colleagues and women always were paid later. That’s why I changed jobs," Diaz said. "To tackle gender inequality I think there needs to be more communication and information about women's rights in the work place."
PHOTO: REUTERS
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