It shouldn’t be that hard.
I mean, it’s only one word. Well, two, if you count the pronoun in the middle there.
But for more than 50 years, every single time I’ve sung “God save the…” it has been followed by the word “queen.”
And this year, for the first time since before I was born, it’s not.
This year, for the first time in my lifetime it will be “king.”
There are some of you out there, oldeer than 70+ years, who might remember singing God save the King. But I don’t, and the lion’s share of Commonwealth residents don’t, either.
And I know, the monarchy is now really only ceremonial, but still, it’s going to be a hard adjustment to make.
Despite the fact that his coronation won’t be until next May, Charles is indeed King. Unlike elected officials, royals inherit their titles by birth (or, in this case, death) and Charles went from Prince to King the moment the Queen passed away.
There have been a few exceptions. In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated the throne, which meant that his brother, George became king. Typically, the throne would pass from parent to eldest child, meaning that even though Charles has a sister and two brothers, the next in line after him is his son, William.
And though William has a brother, Harry, the one in line after William is his son, George. As it stands now, if all three of these Royals were to wind up unable to perform their duty as monarch, William’s daughter Charlotte would be next in line, then her younger brother, Louis.
After, that, it would begin working its way back up the line. Harry would be next in line, then his children, then Anne, Charles’s eldest sister.
But wait, no. She’s actually 16th in line, after her two brothers and their kids and grandkids. Why’s that?
Because it was only in 2013—less than ten years ago—that a law was passed that makes succession based on birth order alone, and not gender.
Yes, even though women have reigned 64 of the last 200 years (which isn’t half, but is still a fairly sizable chunk), the rules have only been changed recently to do away with gender based laws saying that the first born male—if there was one—would be king, even if he had older sisters.
And it boggles the mind that it took 945 years since the Battle of Hastings and the establishment of the British Crown as we understand it today, to make this change.
We think that we live in a world where men and women are equal. And yes, there are women blasters and drivers at the mine, but how many? Is it 50-50? Gonna go out on a limb and say probably not. I don’t think it’s any sort of bias on the part of Conuma, just the way our society is built.
For instance. Last year, there were less than 10 percent of female CEOs at Fortune 500 companies. The actual amount? 8.9 percent. Thing is, that’s more than double what it was when the succession law was changed.
About 40 percent of doctors in Canada are female.
In elementary schools, over 80 percent of the teaching staff is female. At the same time, 71 percent of principals were male.
There are 103 women in parliament right now. That’s the highest it’s ever been. That’s basically 30 percent.
And, while Canada has actually had a female prime minister (compared to the US, which hasn’t even had a women candidate for president), she did not win by popular vote, but took on the role after Brian Mulroney resigned. While she was elected by her party, many feel that she was handed a sinking ship, (or, as Will Ferguson put it, “took over the controls of a 747 just before it plunged into the Rockies”).
Are you sensing a trend here? Things are getting better, but we’re not there yet. We have more women CEOs. We have more female politicians. But if we truly live in an equatable society, why aren’t the numbers closer? Is it because women don’t get involved in politics because it doesn’t appeal to them, or do they not get involved in politics because we as a society subtly discourage them?
Men who are driven and work hard to succeed are considered “decisive”. Women who are assertive are considered bossy or bitchy. Change one word and we cast a positive trait negatively.
As of 2019, the average woman made 76.8 cents for every dollar that a man made. That’s better, but still not there.
And it’s not just in the workplace. 44 percent of women report that they have experienced some form of partner violence, from psychological abuse to sexual abuse.
For men, that number was 38 percent.
Which sounds … close. Closer than many of the numbers we’ve looked at. And if all we are talking about is psychological abuse, then those figures remain close.
But when we look at sexual abuse, only two percent of men suffered, compared to 12 percent of women. And that’s just in situations where it’s a partner. In general, women are five times more likely to be sexually abused. And over the last few years, the number of women being killed has been growing, too, up to 173 in 2021 from 118 two years earlier.
So, God bless the queen for all she’s done to help the cause of women’s rights and equality, even if it was simply being there to show what was possible. We are a lot farther along than when she started. But we aren’t there yet.
If you are a woman and been a victim of abuse, there is help available. The Tumbler Ridge Safe Home Program provides short term temporary safe shelter and basic needs for women and their dependent children who are at risk of violence. It provides safe, secure and confidential services in an undisclosed location. Call 250-242-8208 if you or someone you know needs help.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
