That is true emancipation

So it was International Women's Day. And that is important. Really. But I do get a bit of a rash from it in places I won't share with you. First of all, because of the commercial exploitation of it. How many brands have held wild brainstorming sessions to connect International Women's Day to their brand through a sharp U-turn? Some things you should just leave alone. Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, and Christmas are great moments to lure people into your store, but these kinds of days should be left alone. Soon we'll even use May 5th to boost the sales of champagne and chocolate.

Anyway. That's reason 1. The other is the emancipatory tone that sometimes makes me a bit uneasy. Us women against the world. Of course, we should have the same rights as men. That's why the pay gap needs to be corrected as soon as possible (by the way, read my 7 steps for a higher salary). And how nice it would be if more women held executive positions. Schiphol is doing well, they have many women on their board. So many that I recently heard departing director Jos Nijhuis say that his successor could not be a woman because then there would be more women in the board than men. That gave me a spontaneous hiccup. I've never heard anyone complain about a board that consists solely of men. Hidden moral: there is indeed a woman with a clenched fist inside me, but there is a but.

That grouping of women makes me anxious. Networking evenings only for women, brrr. Networking evenings are not for me at all. Making contacts can be done everywhere. Always. To specifically set aside an evening for that goes against all spontaneity of life for me. And why does it have to be only with women? There are also men in this world. Men you will also work with. Or do we suddenly find all men stupid?

On the internet, I stumble upon posts with films directed by women. Books by and about strong women, and so on. Don't get me wrong, I think we should honor women, but let's not distance ourselves from men. That only makes the space larger. If I may take an example from a woman, then I do so from Eva Jinek. Ask her who her great role model is and she answers: Jeroen Pauw. And that, if you ask me, is the pinnacle of emancipation.