International Women’s Day is marked annually on March 8 in an effort to promote gender equality and build a more equitable society. The day honors Women and raises awareness of topics including equal rights for women, violence and abuse against women, and reproductive freedom.
How did international Women’s Day start?
The seeds were planted when 15,000 women marched through New York City in 1908 demanding less work, better pay, and the right to vote. The Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day a year later.
Making the day a global holiday was the idea of Clara Zethkin, a communist activist and defender of women’s rights. She floated the idea during a gathering of working women in Copenhagen in 1910. There were 100 women, from 17 different countries, and they all agreed to support her idea.
International Women’s Day’s purpose:
The goals of International Women’s Day are to celebrate women’s accomplishments and advance gender equality. This day also strives to promote gender equality by encouraging equal participation in social, economic, cultural, and political activities in order to guarantee that the most vulnerable people of our society have equal rights in all areas.
How is Women’s Day celebrated?
International Women’s Day is observed as a national holiday in a number of countries, including Russia, where flower sales increase in the three to four day leading up to March 8.
A large number of Chinese women will have a half day off from work on March 8 in accordance with the State Council’s recommendation.
Italy celebrates the Festa della Donna, or International Women’s Day, by exchanging mimosa blooms. This habit is said to have started in Rome after World War Two, however its exact origins are uncertain.
In the US, March is observed as Women’s History Month. A presidential proclamation recognizes American Women’s achievements each year.
Theme for IWD 2023
The United Nations Designated “DigitalALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality” as the year’s theme in order to highlight the significance of technology in bringing gender concerns to light.
The website for International Women’s Day states, Equity is a necessity, not simply a pleasant to have. Every society needs to have a strong emphasis on gender equity. Understanding the distinction between equity and equality is also crucial. The IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to spread awareness about why equal opportunities are insufficient.
According to the IWD website, equity takes into account that each person has unique circumstances and distributes the precise resources and opportunities required to produce an equal result, as opposed to equality, which refers to providing each person or group of people with the same resources or opportunities.
Some facts about women in digital technology
In 2022, only 63% of women would be internet users, compared to 69% of men, according to a forecast by International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
According to a survey by the World Economic Forum (WEF), 75% of occupations by 2050 will be in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields. Yet, women only hold 22% of the role in the workforce today, to name just one industry.
According to the Gender Snapshot report from 2022, a study of 51 nations found that 38% of women have personally encountered online assault.
The potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and advance gender equality is increased when women are involved in technology.
UNESCO’s message for this year
In her message for this year’s International Women’s Day, UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay noted the importance of guaranteeing equal opportunity for women and girls while also ensuring that they benefit from the opportunities presented by technological change. She said that the theme for this year will be “Innovation and technology for gender equality”, noting that women are four times less likely to possess advanced ICT skills, make up less than 20% of the IT workforce, and just 12% of AI research is conducted.
