International Women’s Day Lunch & Quiz

What did you organize today? 

'The purpose of this event was to have a celebration, because there are already so many discussions and debates happening about the feminism and women empowerment, that we wanted this day to be a fun party. We are embracing what was originally meant with International Women’s Day, which is to celebrate women and it has been a nice way to pamper our fellow colleagues and students. Today there were also opportunities for networking, to get people connected. And we weren’t looking only for women, men are always invited as well. Those men who attended today were in luck because they got to meet some fabulous women from our university, both students and employees.'

Why is IWD important to you?

'We have normal, daily situations where we realize that both business-wise and socially, it is important that women are treated on an equal level and there is mutual respect. As there are still difficulties going on with women’s rights all over the world. We tend to forget that we are quite privileged in today’s Dutch society and so it’s important to remember and celebrate this day.'

What do you think when hearing the word feminism?

'The word is bigger than it sounds in the first place. Sometimes, feminism has a connotation of activism, of ladies in the streets taking of their clothes. This is needed sometimes to get the attention of those in power and only when that attention is acquired you can install change. If it weren’t for the extreme part of feminism, we wouldn’t have this more moderate form today.'

The male presenter of the event also added to this discussion by saying: 'I think that men also can be feminists if they stop looking at the concept in such an extreme way. There will come a time, where everyone will benefit from the feministic actions of today and there won’t be anyone who can count it as a negative thing. Once everyone understands what the rules are the word feminism won’t have much meaning anymore.'