International Women’s Day 2018: The Time is Now

“This International Women’s Day, UN Women celebrates the rural and urban activists who have transformed the lives of women around the world. From grassroots campaigns to global movements, women’s activism over the decades has paved the way for women’s rights and a more equal future. On March 8, join UN Women to reflect on progress made, to stand up for change, and to celebrate the ordinary and extraordinary women who have changed the world through their words and actions. The time is now.”

International Women’s Day commemorates the movement for women’s rights, and was originally called International Working Women’s Day. The earliest observance of a Women’s Day was in New York in 1909, organized by the Socialist Party of America. Over the years, various countries observed a similar day at different times, many in conjunction with strikes, rallies, and other protests in support of increased rights and better conditions for women.

The United Nations began celebrating in International Women’s Day in 1975, International Women’s Year. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace. Many countries currently treat it as an official national holiday with many others (including the U.S.) celebrating it unofficially.

#TimeIsNow: A Message from UN Women’s Executive Director on International Women’s Day 2018. In her message for International Women’s Day on March 8, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka draws attention to the work of rural and urban activists who have fought for women’s rights and gender equality.

The UN Secretary-General said, in his message on International Women’s Day, “Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world.” He went on to say, “Let me be clear: this is not a favour to women. Gender equality is a human rights issue, but it is also in all our interests: men and boys, women and girls. Gender inequality and discrimination against women harms us all.” Read his full statement here.

Resources and other items of interest:

• Eight ways you can be a women’s rights advocate today, and every day
• Timeline: Women of the world, unite! “A single moment can spark a revolution, collective actions can transform laws, creative expression can change attitudes and an invention can alter the course of history. It’s these threads that weave together to propel the women’s movement — even in the face of obstacles. Discover how some of these strands, big and small, have shaped your lives, and the rights and lives of women and girls worldwide.”
• Photo essay: Rural women, human rights
• Gender equality through the cartoonists’ lens, “UN Women and Cartooning for Peace, a non-profit international network of 162 editorial cartoonists from 59 different countries, have joined forces in a collaboration for International Women’s Day and the 62nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62).”
• International Women’s Day website
• Feminism was Merriam-Webster online dictionary’s most looked up word for 2017
• Watch some of the best IWD videos from now, and from over the years
• Women Need One More Degree Than Men to Earn the Same Average Salary. It’s important to keep in mind when this article refers to “women,” it most likely is referring to the highest wage earning women, and for women of color the wage gap is even more extreme.
• Serena Williams says ‘there’s no wrong way to be a woman’ in powerful ad
• Penguin Random House Celebrates Female Authors and Supports Women’s Rights on International Women’s Day
• Women’s Liberation Reading List, because you know how much we love our reading lists!
• International Women’s Day around the world – in pictures
• Trust Women, a poem for International Women’s Day by Jena Schwartz
• 10 Mindfulness Practices from Powerful Women, “In honor of International Women’s Day we’ve gathered 10 mindfulness practices created by women to help you live a generous, compassionate, healthy life.”
• 55 Incredible Photos Of Girls Going To School Around The World