Cranbrook University Women celebrate Women’s Day

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• Cranbrook Women’s Centre set to re-open
• Cranbrook Women’s Centre will close its doors in March
• Velma McKay and Vicky Dalton are Women of the Year
• International day of peace celebration in Cranbrook
• Cranbrook PEP volunteers honoured
• Increase at Cranbrook Airport

Velma McKay and Vicky Dalton will share the Woman of the Year Award 2011 by the Canadian Federation of University Women - Cranbrook Club (CFUW). The CFUW is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s Woman of the Year Award are two very worthy, hard-working women who, for the last 25 years, have given of themselves in their work place as well as in their private lives for other women in our district.

The ceremony to honour Velma McKay and Vicky Dalton will take place on Monday, March 7, at 4 pm in the Education Centre that is attached to the Cranbrook Public Library. All family and friends are welcome to attend.

Unfortunately, Velma McKay is fighting a courageous battle with cancer and will not be in attendance herself, but her friends and nominators will be.

With March 8 marking the 100th anniversary of the International Women’s Day, it is appropriate to celebrate the East Kootenay Woman of the Year 2011 in a ceremony on March 7.

This week is an ideal time to refledt on the huge gains for women accomplished in the past 100 years and to be proud of the progress made. If we look back 100 years in Canada, it was a much different pictuire for women, as most worked in the home.

Women had few rights independent of their husbands, many professions barred women’s entry, wages were discriminatory, women often lost jobs when they were married, women did not have the right to vote, no woman had been elected to Parliament and women were not yet “persons”.

Today, conditions are much different, but it is not simply clear sailing ahead.

Women are not fully represented as decision makers in the municipal, provincial and political arenas. Women are not fully represented on the corporate boards of this country. Women are not yet earning equal pay for work of equal value. Women are under-represented in full professorships and top research positions.

Women are over-represented in the depths of poverty snf face its terrible impact on their health; particularly as single mothers, immigrant, aboroginal and senior women. Sadly, women and girls are primary targets in the growing ranks of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and violence.

On the international front, UN Women has been created to bring together the work of the various UN agencies focused on women. Through the Cranbrook CFUW affiliation with IFUW, all CFUW can support that work.

Let’s all celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and think about what we can do, going forward to make a difference in the lives of women and girls around the world.