All you need to know on International Women’s Day
Today is International Women’s Day – Here’s everything you need to know.
#HappyInternationalWomensDay We can choose to challenge & call out gender bias & inequality. We can choose to seek out & celebrate women’s achievements. From challenge comes change, so let’s all #ChooseToChallenge https://t.co/cZceJMLvn0
#IWD2021 #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/bLX3BEcAXb— Women’s Day (@womensday) March 8, 2021
What is International Women’s Day?
The first International Women’s Day movement was in 1908.
15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights after feeling they did not have equality.
This led to the first International Women’s Day being honoured in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on the 19th of March.
More than one million women and men attended rallies to campaign for women’s rights to work, vote and more.
However, on the 25th of March, the “Triangle Fire” in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women.
This brought attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the US and therefore became the focus of the next International Women’s Day events.
To see the full timeline of the progress made by women leading to today, follow this link: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/15586/The-history-of-IWD
When is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day takes place every year on the 8th of March.
This special day has been observed since the early 1900’s and today marks the 110th International Women’s Day.
Why do we celebrate this day?
Today is an opportunity to celebrate all the achievements women all over the world have made.
It is also an opportunity to raise awareness on gender equality and fundraise for female focused charities.
If you want to donate to a female focused charity you can follow this link to the official International Women’s Day website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Fundraising
Are there any traditions?
There are several colours which symbolise International Women’s Day. They are; purple, green and white. Each colour symbolises something different.
Purple signifies justice and dignity, green represents hope and white shows purity.
These colours originated from the UK’s Women’s Social and Political Union in 1908.
Is there a theme?
This year the theme is a campaign called “Lets all choose to challenge.”
It is conveying that we are all responsible for challenging things and we are responsible for our thoughts and actions.
“We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world.” – IWD Campaign.
Hashtags have been created to get this campaign trending on social media and people have been encouraged to put photos of themselves raising their hand up to show their support.
There is a collective gallery on the IWD website of people raising their hand to support the campaign this year.
Are there any events taking place?
Being in a pandemic means events cannot take place like normal. But, this has not stopped the movement. This year, there are a variety of virtual events. You can register to take part in events on the IWD website. These events are an opportunity to show your support, celebrate and campaign.
How can I show my support?
There are so many ways for you to share your support.
You can share your thoughts on social media using hashtags #IWD2021 and #ChooseToChallenge. You can upload a photo of yourself raising your hand to show you support this years campaign. This will also help to raise awareness.
You can also donate to female fundraisers via the IWD website.
How can I find out more?
Find out more by following this link to the official International Women’s Day website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Click here to read about 8 inspiring women in 2021.