Water is a women’s issue.

It’s an important adage, one that highlights how we expect governments to prioritize investments in safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and water resource management. It links to the theme of this year’s World Water Day, too.

Here we are in 2013. You may wonder, is there really still a need for an International Women’s Day?
The answer, in short, is an unabashed yes!

"It's better to be raised by a single mom."

"It's worse to be raised by a single mother."

The first argument cited above was written by a single mother who believes that her choice to raise her children on her own gave them "grit." The second argument was made by a man raised by a single mother. He sees himself and his success as more the exception than the rule.

Title IX, an amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, stated that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance...”  Passed on this day in 1972, this policy meant that schools and colleges receiving federal funding could not legally give preference to men.  Instead, they had to allocate their resources to men and women in proportion to their interest and enrollment.

Imagine sitting at your desk at work and overhearing a co-worker sharing the good news about his or her latest raise, bumping his or her salary to $50,000. You have worked at the company five years longer, in the same position and your salary is $5,000 lower.

The course of my life changed when I met Mrs. C. She has quite possibly been one of the most influential forces in my life. Mrs. C served as an example for me and for countless women and men across the country, simply because she spent the sum of her life working to be and do more than what was expected of her.

Maya Rockeymoore interviews Janice Ferebee, Director of the Bethune Program Development Center at the National Council of Negro Women, who discusses her Center's work with women of color in areas such as health and politics at the 2010 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference.

Question and answers session at the Economic Security for Women Conference. Topics include economic development, women of color and long-term wealth development.

Representative Yvette Clarke (D-NY) discusses the importance of women-owned businesses as an asset building strategy at the Economic Security for Women Conference.

Sarah Echohawk Vermillion, VP of First Nations Development Institute, discusses sexism in tribal economies and the need for economic development and asset and wealth building for women in American Indian communities at the Economic Security for Women Conference.