Today is International Women’s Day (IWD). Every year on March 8 the achievements, struggles and stories of women are shared and celebrated across the globe.
IWD gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women.
First celebrated more than 100 years ago in Denmark, it has since grown into a global movement.
But how exactly did it start? Express.co.uk has put together a handy explainer on the origins of International Women’s Day.
According to the United Nations, IWD is a day “when women are recognised for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political”.
IWD is also used to highlight key issues affecting women around the world be it in professional, social, or cultural contexts. The official IWD website said it is also an opportunity to “call for positive change advancing women” and to “lobby for accelerated gender parity”.
The first International Women’s Day was over 100 years ago in 1911, in Copenhagen, Denmark. In the years building up to this occasion, there had been a series of conferences and debates around the world.
At first, this culminated in the first National Women’s Day in New York City in 1909 organised by the Socialist Party of America.
The following year, in Denmark at the second International Conference of Working Women Clara Zetkin proposed that every year every country should celebrate IWD on the same day. Ms Zetkin’s idea was agreed on unanimously by representatives from 17 countries present at the conference. It was celebrated by Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, and Germany.
IWD was first marked by the United Nations over 60 years later in 1975 and two years later a resolution was passed proclaiming that it should be observed by all member states.
Every year, each IWD has a theme. The theme for 2024 is ‘Inspire Inclusion’. The IWD campaign explained: “When we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we forge a better world.
“And when women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. Collectively, let’s forge a more inclusive world for women.”
As to how people can inspire inclusion, the group said that to include women “means to openly embrace their diversity of race, age, ability, faith, body image, and how they identify. Worldwide, women must be included in all fields of endeavour”.
