Mar 8, 2009

International Women's Day

The 8th of March represents the day of celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women in many part of the world. I read today on the italian newspapers "La Repubblica", that the official birth of this celebration, it's related to the figure of German Socialist Clara Zetkin, and it's inspired by the San Petersburg's women revolt against the Zarist regime which took place on February 23 in 1917 (corresponding to the 8th of March on the Gregorian Calendar).
Interesting fact from the FT, men in the UK are losing jobs at twice the rate as women. While the article discusses a lot how to interprete these results in light of the statement that "women are hurt more by the recession", it does not provide any information on sectoral composition of these jobs losses. As reported here for the EU, and I suspect that the same is valid for the UK, men have a higher representation in sectors like construction and transportation, which are very likely to be affected way more by the crisis. As a side note to the article, it's also reported that moms are increasing their participation rate in face of the recession, to support familiy income.
So, whether you believe in this celebration or not, dear Rigotnomics (females) readera, I still find it useful to wish you happy IWD!!!

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