WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THE WOMEN IN OUR LIVES?
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY TAKES PLACE ON MARCH 8 EVERY YEAR: REALIZING WOMEN’S RIGHTS. EACH YEAR WE HAVE MORE OF A CHANCE TO HELP MOBILIZE GLOBAL EFFORTS TO ACHIEVE GENDER EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS ALL OVER THE WORLD. A GLOBAL DAY CELEBRATING THE SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL AND POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF WOMEN. THE DAY ALSO MARKS A CALL TO ACTION FOR ACCELERATING GENDER EQUALITY.
International women’s day takes place this year on Sunday, March 8 and in 2020 the theme is: I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights.
Each year we have more of a chance to help mobilize global efforts to achieve gender equality and human rights for women and girls all over the world. A global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.
Let’s remember the most important factor - gender influences everyone’s social, cultural, economic, and political position, and without it, inequities result. As a consequence, gender equality is essential for economies and communities to thrive and when this happens, everyone wins!
A BRIEF HISTORY
In 1975, March 8th was designated as International Women’s Day by the United Nations and has been celebrated annually since then. The history of this day centres around the socialist movements of the early 20th century.
On March 8, 1908, 15,000 women garment workers, including many immigrants, marched through New York City’s Lower East Side to rally at Union Square to demand economic and political rights including the right to vote. The inhumane conditions of women workers at the time are best exemplified by the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire of 1911, a catastrophe that killed 146 workers in less than 20 minutes. Nearly all the girls were non-English speaking migrant teenage girls working long hours for very little pay.
This tragedy was one of the deadliest industrial disasters that galvanized efforts around the world to further gender equality for women and their struggle for workers’ rights. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since.
WOMEN AND THE MOVEMENT FOR FURTHER GENDER EQUALITY
The world will turn its attention to women and girls for International Women’s Day, celebrating the many success stories and recognizing what still needs to be done.
The emerging global consensus is that despite some progress, real change has been agonizingly slow for the majority of women and girls in the world. Today, there is not a single country that can claim to have achieved complete gender equality. Multiple factors have remained unchanged both in law and in culture. Women and girls continue to be undervalued; they work more, earn less and have fewer choices; and experience multiple forms of violence at home and in public spaces. Furthermore, there is a significant threat of rollback of hard-won feminist gains.
What we need to ask is: where would we be without the women in our lives? An equally important question is, where would be if we could give women equal chance, equal pay, equal everything of what men have been given for centuries? We know that without a doubt investing in education, health, and safety helps young women to gain the knowledge, skills and opportunities to lift themselves and their communities.
SUPPORTING GIRLS AND WOMEN BENEFITS EVERYONE!
It’s just not about what has been achieved so far - if it had to come down to statistics we would need at least another 200 years to be given a like for like a measure of what men have that women should have had such a long time ago. And the big gains made aren’t always the big advancements. It is the decisions made in everyday workplaces that have ripple effects in the community and in society no matter where you are in the world.
Celebrate the women who have transformed your life and support the grassroots organizations that aim to empower women and those that promote equality in dignity and rights. Help break the social construct by either staying informed about issues affecting women, donating or volunteering with an organisation to support girls' rights and gender inequality.
