International Women’s Day and equality through words
8th March 2021
International Women’s Day is a global day that celebrates the economic, social, cultural and political achievements of women. It focuses on promoting women’s rights, raising awareness of issues that affect women, and celebrating women’s achievements.
The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Marked annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:
- celebrate women’s achievements
- raise awareness about women’s equality
- lobby for accelerated gender parity
- fundraise for female-focused charities
What’s the history of International Women’s Day?
The history of International Women’s Day goes back to early 1900s.
It began with a march that took place in 1908 in New York City with over 15,000 women campaigning for shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman’s Day was celebrated across the United States on February 28, 1909.
The idea to make the day international came from Clara Zetkin, who suggested it at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910. Clara recommended that every year, in every country there should be a Women’s Day celebration on the same day, continuing to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women, from 17 countries, agreed with Zetkin’s suggestion and thus International Women’s Day was the result.
In 1914 International Women’s Day was agreed to be marked annually on March 8 that translated in the widely adopted Gregorian calendar from February 23. This day has remained the global date for International Women’s Day ever since.
Each year since then women around the world celebrate International Women’s Day, fighting for change in equality and emancipation.
You can read the full IWD history here.
What colours represent International Women’s Day?
Purple, white and green are the colours of International Women’s Day. These colours originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908.
Purple symbolises justice and dignity. Green signifies hope and white represents purity.
In anticipation of the day that celebrates the achievements of women everywhere and raises awareness about gender equality, several retailers are running sales, deals, and initiatives that give back.
What’s the theme for International Women’s Day 2021?
The theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is ‘Choose to Challenge‘.
The campaign encourages everyone to challenge and summon gender bias and inequality, as well as to find and celebrate women’s achievements. Because together we can create an inclusive world.
How can people get involved?
Unfortunately, with the United Kingdom still in lockdown, IWD can’t be celebrated the usual way. Instead, people are encouraged to show their support for IWD 2021 and this year’s theme, #ChooseToChallenge, by posting an image of themselves on social media with their hand raised high to show they choose to challenge and call out inequality.
Source: https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day
Good housekeeping and The Resident published an article on IWD events that you can tune in to from the sofa: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/lifestyle/a35722571/international-womens-day-2021-virtual-events/ and https://www.theresident.co.uk/london-culture-events/international-womens-day-london/
“A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change. So let’s all #ChooseToChallenge”
Source: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/2021Theme
