International Women’s Day – #ChooseToChallenge

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Groups come together worldwide to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality. Much like Black History Month – you wonder why there is only an International Women’s Day. Nonetheless, Sunday, March 8 represents a celebration that dates back to 1908.

About International Women’s Day

The International Women’s Day website has tons of information on this celebration. Here are just a few highlights:

•  The campaign theme for International Women’s Day 2021 is ‘Choose To Challenge’. A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change.
• Purple, green, and white are the colors of International Women’s Day. Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolizes hope. White represents purity, albeit a controversial concept. 
• Historical Milestones include:
  • 1908 – 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights

    

  • 1975 – International Women’s Day is celebrated for the first time by the United Nations
  • 1996 – The UN announced their first annual theme “Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future”
  • 2001 – The internationalwomensday.com platform was launched with the specific purpose of re-energizing the day – a focus which continues to this day – celebrating and making visible the achievements of women while continuing the call for accelerating gender parity
  • 2011 – The 100 year centenary of International Women’s Day – with the first IWD event held exactly 100 years ago in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be “Women’s History Month”, calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on “the extraordinary accomplishments of women” in shaping the country’s history.
  • 2021 and beyond – So make a difference, think globally and act locally!
    Make everyday International Women’s Day.
    Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

International Women’s Day Events

Visit the following websites for some local International Women’s Day Events

• eventbrite
• National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA)
• Tikion18th
• International Women’s Day: Virtual Festival
• International Women’s Day Webinar
• International Women’s Day events- Worldwide

#ChooseToChallenge