You may have heard that on the 8th March each year, a very important event is acknowledged, celebrating women all over the world. With women not having a voice or rights for many years, it’s so wonderful to acknowledge International Women’s Day each year celebrating women, past, present and future.
WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY?
International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate achievements of women, whether social, political, economic or cultural. It’s a day to celebrate women in all their diversities, whether is be intersections of faith, race, ethnicity, gender or sexual identity, or disability. We celebrate those women for the past, the women that stand beside us today and the women that will come after us in the future.
WHEN DID IT START?
In 1908, against a backdrop of terrible working conditions and exploitation, 15,000 women took to the streets in New York protesting for shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
The next year the Socialist Party of America announced a National Women’s Day to honour the strikers, and in 1910 it went global – the Socialist International voted for the creation of a Women’s Day to advocate for suffrage. The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911, and more than a million people turned out to rallies in Europe.
In 1908, against a backdrop of terrible working conditions and exploitation, 15,000 women took to the streets in New York protesting for shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.
The next year the Socialist Party of America announced a National Women’s Day to honour the strikers, and in 1910 it went global – the Socialist International voted for the creation of a Women’s Day to advocate for suffrage. The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911, and more than a million people turned out to rallies in Europe.
For most of the 20th century International Women’s Day was acknowledged and celebrated by people at the grassroots level, a rallying point for social justice. It wasn’t until 1975 – International Women’s Year – that the United Nations adopted International Women’s Day on 8 March, when it is still held.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?
We have come a long way since 1911, but there is still so much more to achieve. Back in 1911, only eight countries allowed women to vote, equal pay for equal work was unheard of – if women were allowed to work at all – and reproductive rights were non-existent.
Where once women weren’t allowed to vote, many countries are electing women to represent their country on the world stage. Once facing the fate of not being allowed to work, many women are now running big corporations. Things are changing in the right direction but some things are still falling behind such as;
- Unequal Pay- While women comprise roughly 47 per cent of all employees in Australia, they take home on average $251.20 less than men each week (full-time adult ordinary earnings).. The national gender “pay gap” is 15.3 per cent and it has remained stuck between 15 per cent and 19 per cent for the past two decades.
(source human rights.gov.au) - Domestic Violence- Despite domestic violence laws, public awareness and access to legal protections, Australian men are still killing women partners or exes at the rate of one a week.
WHAT CAN I DO TO GET INVOLVED?
- Educate yourself- As they say knowledge is power, so the more you understand gender parity, the more prepared you will be to face the obstacles you may encounter.
- Support women based charities- Donate to a charity that supports women either locally or internationally. Women escaping domestic violence charities are crucial in supporting women in need.
- Have a voice- Speak up against any derogatory or defamatory behaviour towards women or injustice in your workplace or community.
Learn more about this event at UN Women Australia and International Women’s Development Agency.