Getting the Word Out – International Women’s Day

Today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day. 2012 is the 101st year of its celebration. Given that Google has a Doodle for it, we have all probably registered it is some way today. If not, I’m glad to have brought it to your attention!

In the past I have marched in rallies and sang songs with other women. It has been a great way of feeling connected. I miss that today. This is a day that is an acknowledgement of all that needs to be done, but also a day of reinforcing the strength of women. I was delighted to see this e-card from Oxfam America. It seems a wonderful way to be part of something larger – a way to reconnect and remind ourselves of the journey.

Oxfam America free e-card

We have come far; we have a long way to go! I’d like to let Riley have the last word in today’s post. Out of the mouth of babes….

What is with all these wives and daughters?

Image courtesy of Popmatters

I am in a state of Sienfeld-esque perplexity. Have you stepped into a book store or library recently? Have you noticed the high percentage of new books about daughters and wives? There are a ton of books with ‘Someone’s Wife’ and ‘So-and-so’s Daughter’ in the title. It all started, as far as I can tell, from Sorbell’s Galileo’s Daughter and picked up speed with Niffenegger’s Time Traveler’s Wife. Now we seem to have reached the point where this defined identity is a must for books to get published – if you are working on a draft make sure it is about someone’s wife or daughter! I can’t vouch for it, but you may be able to get a mother or sister to work too! Have you noticed this pattern in titles?

The books tend to range from the historical to contemporary and from mysteries to biographies. Here is a cursory list of titles that caught my eye…

• The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
• The Daughter of Xanadu
• The Hangman’s Daughter
• Apothecary’s Daughter
• The Memory Keeper’s Daughter
• The 19th Wife
• The Tiger’s Wife
• A Reliable Wife
• The Prophet’s Wife

I haven’t read any of these books and don’t have an opinion to offer about their merit or lack of it – this is just a post about a pattern in naming books. I wonder what prompts a blitz of titles that are so similar. I think it also struck me as interesting because I recently added Elizabeth Gaskell’s Wives and Daughters to my reading list. Apparently, we are still pretty preoccupied with this theme!

Getting the Word Out: FITE

This is my Saturday post on non-profits and social media. Today I would like to highlight FITE. Financial Independence Through Entrepreneurship – Help women worldwide start or grow a business. Their YouTube video speaks well for what they are trying to achieve.

FITE is working with the Kiva model of making it easy for donors to give money directly to the people who need it. The Kiva idea of micro-finance working directly between people in far off places has been hugely successful. It has been a story that exemplifies the kind of connections that can be created by Web 2.0.

FITE is focusing on creating the same kinds of opportunities for women entrepreneurs. Research repeatedly shows that empowering women is the best way to create societal change and here is an agency that is using the power of social media to create that kind of grass roots transformation.

There is every sign that FITE is new to the social media world. The organization which was founded in 2010 has been in Facebook for around six months and their Twitter presence seems one week old. I am choosing to feature them because I believe they are starting out with all the right kinds of engagement. The organizational website has also zeroed in on a key element of crowd participation by setting up teams and creating a context of competitive giving. It has been used with great success by corporations and it will be interesting to see the idea develop in the context of a non-profit.

Here is wishing FITE great success in getting the message out!