It’s time to celebrate International Women’s Day. A day to recognise that women play an equal role in the world, in all aspects, and yet still in the twenty-first century women are still struggling to find their voice, to have equal access to resources, to be heard.

It astonishes and saddens me that even in this day and age, women have to fight to be treated equally, just because of gender. Yes, each gender may excel or be more suited to different roles, but that doesn’t make either one better than the other, there are always exceptions and everyone should be treated equally.

In 2022, climate change is front and centre as we all experience the changes in weather patterns in the world around us, and yet women are suffering even more, often being on the front line of gathering food, water, fuel.

As resources become more constrained, it’s the women who are trying to support their families with basic supplies, struggling to find what once was plentiful.

If you are interested in further information on how climate and gender equality are interlinked, check out this post by UN Women.org.

Along with climate change, gender equality seems to still be a prevalent issue in many areas, even that of authors. There are many amazing independent women authors creating wonderful stories, and yet their still seems to be a stigma in the publishing world attached to women authors writing Fantasy or science fiction. Many women choose to use their initials instead of their first name, to give the impression that they are male in the belief that readers will find their books more acceptable in a male dominated genre. And then you have the reverse, the romance or YA genre is dominated by women, but men are just as capable writing a good romance or a book for the younger generation. The gender of the author should not come in it.

I did consider using my initials when i first started publishing my books, but I chose to use my first name. It’s a perfectly good name! And I believe in my books to stand on their merits, no matter my gender. I hope readers feel the same. Let me know in the comments if you have faced this dilemma or whether the gender of the author makes any difference to the book choices you make. One day, these arguments won’t need to be made. It shouldn’t make any difference which gender you are, it is the writing that should be judged and enjoyed.

This may not be on par with the challenges of climate change or life impacting struggles of many women aorund the world, but it is still an insidious encroachment on the rights of women to be treated equally. Is that really too much to ask?