Explaining the significance of International Women's Day

One of the most significant human rights challenges in the world today is ending discrimination against women and girls and empowering them to reach their full potential.

Gender equality is so important to the United Nations and a crucial part of their Sustainable Development Goals.

International Women's Day serves as a reminder to keep up the fight for equal rights for women.

When did it first begin, and what is International Women's Day?

Every year, on March 8th, people worldwide celebrate International Women's Day (IWD).

It started in February 1909 as National Women's Day in the United States. To give women a stronger voice in the fight for equal rights, women's rights activist Clara Zetkin proposed the creation of an international women's day at the second International Conference of Working Women the following year.

Women representing 17 countries, including Finland's first three female legislators, voted unanimously in favor. The first celebration of International Women's Day took place in 1911, and the date of March 8 was officially established. In 1975, the UN held its first annual celebration of the day.

How do people all over the world celebrate this day?

There are IWD events in major cities all over the world, and in many countries, International Women's Day is recognized as a public holiday.

To bring renewed focus to the day, celebrate women's accomplishments, and keep up the call for gender parity, the internationalwomensday.com platform was launched in 2001.

Women's History Month was declared by US President Barack Obama in 2011, the centennial year. He said that history shows that when women and girls have access to opportunity, societies are more just, economies are more likely to prosper, and governments are more likely to serve the needs of all their people.

In what ways does the world currently struggle with gender inequality?

The COVID-19 pandemic has halted progress toward gender equality.

The Global Gender Gap Index is an annual report from the World Economic Forum that compares 156 countries on four indicators: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.

The latest Global Gender Gap Report found that it will take 135.6 years to close the gender gap, up from 99.5 years in 2020.

Only 22% of the gap has been closed in Political Empowerment, making it the largest of the four measured gaps; this gap has grown by 2.4% since 2020.