Today is International Women’s Day. It is a day to celebrate the social, political and economic achievements of women while focusing global attention on areas requiring further action.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #EmbraceEquity

But what does it mean?

‘Embrace – ‘to accept something willingly and enthusiastically’

‘Equity’ – The term “equity” refers to fairness and justice and is distinguished from equality: Whereas equality means providing the same to all, equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances.

What does this mean in terms of solo parenting?

As a woman, historically, we would not have had the opportunity to become a parent if we were not in a partnership with a man. We would have been dependent on finding a parter in order to pursue a family. This had the potential to result in people having children with partners that they perhaps wouldn’t otherwise have chosen due to the fear of missing out altogether.

What do we have to celebrate?

• In 2023, we can celebrate that we now have options available to us to become a parent outside of a traditional set up. This means women don’t feel that they need to rely on finding a suitable relationship before they become a parent and therefore less people are missing out.

• Although it’s often a real juggle, it is possible to be a solo parent and pursue a career in parallel with the right support around us.

• Something that I am personally truly grateful for is that that I am surrounded by amazing people who have become a critical part of my mum tribe and are there to help and support me both emotionally and practically.

• I’m also thankful that there are more and more role models taking the solo parent route to parenthood, sharing their story openly and confidently with great pride and paving the way for others to make this decision.

• Lastly I am hopeful that our children will grow up in a world where different paths to parenthood are widely accepted

What do we still need to work on?

• There is work to do to ensure fairer access to fertility treatment for everyone.

• We still need to educate people, to help shift attitudes on solo parenting and to challenge the stereotypes and outdated beliefs that some people still carry

• There is amazing work happening to try to make childcare options more affordable and accessible for all, and this still has a long way to go

• There is work to do to update the legislation around fertility treatment and donor conception. There is an opportunity for us all to contribute towards this (in the UK) as the HFEA are asking for input to help them update their policies, so now is the time to have our say.

What are you celebrating this International Women’s Day? What other things do you think still need focus?