Up to some years ago, I'd have said we don't, at least not for women in the west. Why did we need an international day, if we had finally reached an era when we were at par with men? Perhaps we only needed an international day for the sake of solidarity with women in Third World countries.

These days I'm not so sure. For middle-class western women, open sexism, though still around, has largely been eradicated. But little by little I've been noticing that we are still a far cry from the equality goals which would so benefit society.

I take it from my three-year-old daughter. She is - as much as is possible - not exposed to gender stereotyping; and yet the other day, because a boy at school brought a doll with him, she came out the school gate all indignant: "Mama, that's not right. Boys should play with cars."

I spluttered. Where on earth was she getting these outdated notions from? I explained that boys will one day grow up to be daddies so why can't they play being a pretend parent? I tell you, she didn't seem too convinced.

Then my friend's four-year-old daughter announced that only boys can become doctors; girls could only be nurses. Her mother and I nearly had a heart attack. The funny thing is that our daughters are absorbing these messages from somewhere, and it's certainly not from home: it's the ever-present social conditioning.

This may be subtle, but it's definitely there. The other day, while furniture shopping, a salesperson drew me a rough layout of a room. When he finished his drawing he looked up and said: "Now, you come again with your boyfriend or husband and I'll explain this." I was stumped.

This was an utterance more retro than the furniture I was thinking of buying (but of course, didn't).

It is also still felt at the workplace. Not so long ago I held a job where a (male) manager decided to make use of my writing skills by, um, making me the official minute-taker during lengthy meetings. I very nearly donned a pencil skirt and put up my hair in a bun, to match my pink notebook and complement the role. Would this wrist-slaying stuff have been pressed onto a man with a similar work experience, I wonder?

So, of course, it came as no surprise when earlier this year we were told that Malta has the thickest glass ceiling in the EU, making it the hardest country for women to move up the professional ladder. Our important boards and committees are hogged by men.

And then, of course, there is that small matter of the commercialisation of beauty. Increasingly, we are living in a society where women's appearances matter greatly. Possibly I would have got further in life if I had left my blouse 'accidentally' unbuttoned.

But this is why I probably drifted to the world of (print) journalism. I can easily be a bespectacled, greasy-haired, moustachioed slob: in this job, thankfully, it doesn't matter whether I'm an ugly shrew or a babe.

And this is the kind of equality women in society need. Surely, one day, just like our male counterparts, we'll be allowed to do what we like without having to worry about how hot we're looking.

The media, of course, doesn't help. It seems devoted to telling us women that we aren't doing it right: if only you'd use this product, you'd be wrinkle-free, and so on and so forth.

Talk to even the most assured and polished woman and you'll find she's constantly riddled by moments of doubt. It seems that nowadays equality's greatest hindrance is not patriarchy as such, but women's great need of approval, which simply limits the way we act and think.

All this, of course, seems trivial compared to the struggles faced by Iraq or the fact that in South Africa it is estimated that a woman is raped every 83 seconds. Ah, we go, but those are remote countries, aren't they?

Well, let's take a closer look home: here in Malta, domestic violence rose by 25 per cent last year, reaching 602 cases.

No, the west should not be congratulating itself. Fine, we may not be forced to leave school at 13, or be married off at 12, but gender equality is still a far goalpost.

So yes, after all, we do still need a Women's Day.

krischetcuti@gmail.com