Međunarodni dan žena

Filipina Grace Ocol, 40, a backhoe operator, poses for a photograph in Tubay, Agusan del Sur, southern Philippines, Feb. 16, 2017. Ocol, a mother of three, said, "There are a few female workers that can drive big trucks and backhoe. If men can do it, why can't women do it? I'm better than the men, they can only drive trucks here but I can drive both."

Ram, 46, poses for a photograph at her stall at the flower market in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 26, 2017. "In this market men do the hard jobs, they carry heavy things, load trucks," said Ram.

Valerie Perron, 53, an oyster farmer, poses for a photograph on her boat in Andernos, Southwestern France, Feb. 17, 2017. "It must not be forgotten that it is women, moms, who raise the boys. It is therefore up to us to change the mentalities by raising the boys at their youngest age, in a spirit of parity and equality with the woman. We must change the mentalities of early childhood education. A boy can play with dolls and a little girl with small cars," Perron said.

Merylee, 26, a soldier, poses for a photograph in Nice, France, Feb. 23, 2017. " The parity in the army already exists, it is the uniform that takes precedence over gender," Merylee said.

Christine Akoth, 38, a metal painter, poses for a photograph in Kenya's capital Nairobi, Feb. 27, 2017. "I have experienced gender bias at my work where sometimes I'm denied contracts because of who I am and maybe my marital status. Some female colleagues have been treated unfairly because of their sex and even exploited," Akoth said.

Tara McCannel, 44, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Ophthalmic Oncology Center at the UCLA Stein Eye Institute of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), is photographed in in Los Angeles, California, Feb. 27, 2017. "Women are held to a higher standard in knowledge, in abilities, in how the clinical practices go, in appearance," McCannel said. "Women just can't be themselves or just think: 'Oh I'm just going to do my work,' and focus on the job. There are these other things that need to be considered because it's not completely equal even though things are getting better."

Chrifa Nimri, 69, a fisherwoman, arranges a net after returning from fishing at the seaport Sidi Bou Said, in Tunis, Tunisia, Feb. 23, 2017.  "At the beginning of my fishing career all the world told me that the trade was for men but now all my colleagues respect and call me captain," Chrifa said.

Elizabeth Mamani, 36, a reporter at Radio Union, poses inside Bolivia's national congress building in La Paz, Bolivia, Feb. 22, 2017. "When I started in this job, I did feel discrimination [from officials who controlled the access of members of the press to events]. To counter discrimination in this profession, we as women, must excel, we must prepare ourselves in every field," Mamani said.

Ivana, 32, a community manager, smiles in her home where she works in Belgrade, Serbia, Feb. 21, 2017. "Mainly you can see these [gender] gaps in state companies, which are relics of socialism. It is that standard belief where women are 'the best' at being secretaries," Ivana said.

Ana Maria del Verdun Suarez, 27, a police officer, poses for a photograph in the outskirts of Montevideo City, Uruguay, Feb. 23, 2017. "More women should be able to have jobs that traditionally were considered only for men. I believe that discrimination comes sometimes from all of us, it comes from the inside. There are already many professions that were exclusively male and are now performed by women," Suarez said.

Cilene Connolly, 32, a Royal Mail postwoman, poses for a portrait during her postal round on a residential street in Coventry, Britain, Feb. 24, 2017. "Fortunately, I haven't been faced with gender inequalities in my role as a postwoman," Connolly said. "I've had a great response from my customers for being a female delivering their post, women in particular are always pleasantly surprised to see a female face."

Liz Azoulay, 26, who loads and unloads cargo at Ashdod port, poses for a photograph at the port, in Ashdod, southern Israel, Feb. 22, 2017. "In most of my professional life I did not face any inequality. In the port of Ashdod we are equal on the docks. I am the first woman who began working at the Ashdod port as a stevedore."

Raquel Gomez Delgado, 43, a marine fishing inspector, poses on board a fishing boat at Punta del Moral port in Huelva, Spain, Feb. 22, 2017. "In my opinion the only way to end gender inequality is through education in schools and bringing us examples of equality [in the media]," Delgado said.

Samah Abdelaty, 38, a writer and chief of the investigations department at Al Watan Newspaper, poses for a photograph at the headquarters of the newspaper in Cairo, Egypt, Feb. 26, 2017. "On the issue of gender equality in my field I do not remember any discrimination against me working in the field of journalism," Abdelaty said.

Julia Argunova, 36, a mountaineering instructor, poses at 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) above sea level in the Tien Shan mountains near Almaty, Kazakhstan, Feb. 17, 2017. "Physical strength benefits male colleagues in some situations on harder routes. But, women are more concentrated and meticulous. In general, women are better at teaching. My main professional task is to teach safe mountaineering."

Paloma Granero, 38, a skydiving instructor, poses for a photograph inside the wind tunnel at Windobona indoor skydiving in Madrid, Spain, Feb. 24, 2017. "Men don't have to prove themselves like we do. We are tested every day," Granero said. "The instruction jobs still go mostly to men, whereas the administrative jobs go mostly to women."