We join the world in celebrating International Women's Day today, March 8, 2012.

I would especially like to celebrate our own Treasure Beach Women's Group for all the work they have done in the community and providing a positive venue for our community women to learn and grow. I know how much the TBWG has benefitted me and I am grateful.

The following is a link to an article in The Observer in one way Jamaica is paying tribute to women today. I'm very proud to say The TBWG will be represented there today with a few of our members attending. We look forward to their report on the activities of the day.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/allwoman/Ja-s-most-prolific-women-to-be -recognised-for-IWD_10944405

So celebrate with us and make sure to tell at least one woman who has made a difference in your life thank you and that she is appreciated.

I would like to join Rebecca in paying tribute to the ladies of Treasure Beach Women's Group for all that they are doing to uplift the women of Treasure Beach and by extension their families.

Keep up the good work.

--
Christine Marrett
Proprietor
Two Seasons Guest House
Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth
Jamaica
Tel: 876-571-0818
www.2seasonsguesthouse.com
"Where the welcome is warm and the runnings cool"
South coast organizational finalist, 2010 Tourism Service Excellence Programme
Registered with the Jamaica Tourist Board
Member, Jamaica Association of Villas and Apartments

Behind Every Successful Man is a Woman? Let's Reverse That Saying-Cherie Blair

It used to be said that behind every successful man was a woman. They meant, of course, a wife. It was a clumsy way of recognising women's contribution within marriage and the part this sacrifice played in helping husbands advance in their careers.

But as we celebrate International Women's Day, I wonder if it's not time to reverse the saying. Let's, in fact, celebrate the role men are now playing in helping women's rise to the top.

...we have seen a transformation in family responsibilities, including more men staying at home to let their wives follow their career, we shouldn't exaggerate the revolution. The numbers remain very small.
And where both parents work, it is women who are far more likely to shoulder the greater burden at home. We have a long way to go until the playing field is level.

It is, instead, recognition that the fight to overcome the barriers holding women back is being joined by growing numbers of men. And the quicker we recruit more to the ranks, the faster progress will be.

It has been the case, of course, from before the days of the suffragettes that far-sighted men have championed the cause of women's equality.
They did so out of a sense of fairness, natural justice or a belief in the dignity of us all as human beings.
But this principled argument is now backed by the economic case which shows the stupidity of discriminating against half the population.

...we are seeing an increasing recognition among men of the need to enable women to fulfil their potential. It is easy to see why. Research has shown that women in the developing world re-invest a far larger share of their income in their families than men. It's been estimated that India's growth rate would be almost 1% higher annually if the gender labour gap was as small as in China.

LINK to Full Article
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/cherie-blair/international-womens-day-cherie-blair_b_13 26256.html?view=print

And "Z," don't forget the great line about Ginger Rogers: "She did everything Fred did, backwards and in high heels."
And my personal favorite: "A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle."
I join in appreciating the TBWG, the Treasure Beach Foundation, and all the strong women of TB.

Van...Here's a quote, which, because of its author, may seem to be dipping into a controversial political pool.
However, the sentiment, behind the quote, has engendered a global Movement to advance urgent women's issues:

"Women hold up half the sky"--Mao Tse-Tung

"We think too small, like the frog at the bottom of the well. He thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view".--Mao Tse-Tung

LINK: Half The Sky Movement:
www.gamesforchange.org/2011/10/half-the-sky-transmedia-project-update-102011

Praise to the women !!!
They are the stronger sex !
ONE LOVE !!
Mike

If women hold up half the sky, who hold up the other half? Not men, we are too weak. LOL This statement really sparked a movement? A shaky beginning indeed!

A woman's work is never done... thankless though it may be

Trying to measure the contribution of our women to the development of Jamaica from slavery through colonialism and now 50 years of political Independence is an impossibly fruitless task. We would certainly not insult women by attempting to do that on this International Women's Day (IWD).

What no one with senses intact would dispute, however, is that women have contributed as much as, if not more than, our men to the advancement of this our beloved island home, as they have generally in the world.

...We can also take some pride, even with some understandable reservation, that so many more women -- an estimated 70 per cent of university graduates -- are acquiring tertiary education and breaking through the proverbial glass ceiling.

If we are honest with ourselves, we would also acknowledge that our rural women are largely left behind in the forward march of their urban sisters.

Going by UN figures, rural women and girls -- to whom this year's International Women's Day is devoted -- make up one quarter of the global population, yet routinely figure at the bottom of every economic, social and political indicator, from income and education to health to participation in decision-making.

"Numbering almost half a billion smallholder farmers and landless workers, rural women are a major part of the agricultural labour force.
They perform most of the unpaid care work in rural areas. Yet rural women continue to be held back in fulfilling their potential." (UN)

By their reckoning, if rural women had equal access to productive resources, agricultural yields would rise by four per cent, strengthening food and nutrition security and relieving as many as 150-million people from hunger!
"Rural women, if given the chance, could also help end the hidden development tragedy of stunting, which affects almost 200-million children worldwide."

Worse, we know that that general picture is very specific to Jamaica. It is very clear to us that whatever progress we can claim is not enough to balance the scale in the welfare of our women.

LINK To Observer Editorial:
www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/A-woman-s-work-is-never-done----thankless-thou gh-it-may-be_10982540