International Women's Day 2023: Accelerating Equality and Empowerment

Emerging from the activities of labour movements in North America and Europe at the beginning of the 20^thCentury the very first National Women’s Day was observed on February 28^th, 1909 in the United States to honour the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York. On this day, 15000 women marched through New York demanding shorter work hours, voting rights and better pay. Immediately following this, in 1910 Clara Zetkin – a women’s rights advocate and leader of Germany’s Women’s office for the social democratic party proposed the idea of a global international women's day. Later on, the date shifted to March 8^th and the month of March marks women’s history month, an annual month-long celebration of cultural, political and socioeconomic women who made achievements of different women from various fields.     

 

Being celebrated in many different countries across the world, this day is known for recognising women for their achievements with regard to divisions whether it be ethnic, national, cultural, economic, political or linguistic. It is also a day to mark a call to action for accelerating gender parity. There are many different ways of celebrating this day such as hosting events and activities such as conferences, rallies, networking events, etc. On this day, women receive awards for their achievements. As once famously said by Eleanor Roosevelt, A woman is like a teabag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. The theme for International Women’s Day is ‘DigitAll: Innovation and technology for gender equality stressing the importance of the role of innovative technology in promoting gender equality. It highlights the role of innovative technology in promoting gender equality and meeting the health and developmental needs of women and girls.  

 

The aim of IWD 2023 is Embrace Equity and aims to get the world talking about why equal opportunities are not enough. ‘People start from different places so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. The main ten values that guide international women's day are justice, dignity,  hope, equality, collaboration, tenacity, appreciation, respect, empathy and forgiveness. Some of the main ways to celebrate women’s day include learning about influential women, signing up for community service, getting women’s day gifts for the ladies who influence your life, etc.

 

There are many different ways around the world that this day is celebrated in. In Italy, you can expect yellow mimosa flowers which are symbolic of female strength. In Romania International Women’s Day is celebrated in a very similar way to mother’s day and on this day it is particularly men who recognise their mothers, grandmothers and friends by giving them cards and flowers.

 

 In the United States people host capital city rallies, conferences and business events to talk about women’s achievements. In Russia, people recognise this day through gift-giving and in China, employers are encouraged to give their female employees a half day off and men are encouraged to purchase presents for women. In Australia, people celebrate this day through marches, panel discussions, breakfasts and events featuring prominent women. In Spain, people focus on the rights of women and girls. 

 

In London, international women's day is celebrated by featuring speakers, activists and performers who come together to tackle the issues faced by women globally. Besides this, there are also discussions, talks and exhibitions that are held. Interestingly in Chile, there are many people who wear green handkerchiefs to symbolise the support of sexual and reproductive rights. Besides this there are plenty of chanting, drumming beats and elaborate costumes that people wear. In Argentina, giving presents to one another was an initial practice but nowadays holding protests have become a regular feature with many citizens taking to the streets to demonstrate against violence, the still present pay gap and other social changes.