Speak Up. Speak Out

Speak up. Speak out. In this special International Women’s Day feature, the women in today’s society reflect on how their lives have progressed since the day was officially recognised in 1975.

- Char Maine Tai

It’s 2019. Forty-four years after the United Nations designated 8 March as International Women’s Day. But the day was celebrated long before it received recognition. In 1908, women garment workers in New York staged a protest against unfair working conditions. Subsequently, the US observed its first National Woman’s Day in 1909.

The movement soon caught on in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and other parts of Europe as a way for women to fight for their rights and have their voices heard. Through the years, the day slowly morphed into a more positive movement, one that honours women’s contributions to society and aims to make workplaces more inclusive. Even companies and organisations have stepped up and pushed for equality. Today, 8 March represents emancipation, unity and celebration.

To celebrate International Women’s Day this year, we’ve asked nine women, each a heavyweight in her own right, to pen letters to their younger selves, children and fellow women in the workforce.

ANNE SCHAAL

Managing director Southeast Asia and Australia of A Lange & Sohne

To my fellow ladies in the workforce, “ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking”. On the rare occasion that a female voice greets me with that sentence, especially when on board an Airbus A380, I am overwhelmed with a sense of pride. Not that I have anything to do with the pilot’s achievements – and after all, it should not be something special or a question of whether a woman is capable of flying the world’s biggest passenger airplane. It is however saddening that even in 2019 having a female pilot is a rare exception. Women in charge, especially in traditionally male industries, still provoke raised eyebrows or at least receive surprised looks.