“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama

The news that radical right winger Janusz Korwin-Mikke, a Polish member of the European Parliament, declared during a debate on gender pay gap that women earn less than men because they are weaker, smaller and less intelligent, is shocking (although in a world where Trump can be President, I am now becoming more used to being shocked). The EU rules clearly state that all members must show “mutual respect” and should not indulge themselves in any “defamatory language or behaviour”. Surely, the EU should suspend him while they investigate such scurrilous betrayal of EU rules with his sexist and arrogant opinion; including claiming that 15 year old boys are more intelligent than their mothers!

Women have come a long way in their struggle for equality, but there is still a long way to go. And the open nature of ‘anti-women’ sentiment and negative comments at the very highest levels of our political and business words continue to highlight this. This year, the theme for International Women’s Day is ‘#BeBoldForChange.’ The obvious aim is to encourage all women to be bolder, stronger and more powerful in all spheres of life to promote a more gender inclusive world.

The World Economic Forum predicts that the gender gap will not close entirely until 2186. This is far too long to wait.. We must be bold, pragmatic and resilient.

Wouldn’t it be just great if we all spoke out and stood firm so that voices like Janusz Korwin-Mikke were quashed.