International Women's Day 8th March 2023

International Women's Day (IWD) first celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, grew out of the labour movement to become a recognised annual event by the United Nations (UN) in 1975.

In 1908,15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. A year later, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman's Day.

The idea to make the day international came from a woman called Clara Zetkin, communist activist and advocate for women's rights. She suggested the idea in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women there, from 17 countries, and they agreed on her suggestion unanimously.  

The UN's theme for 2023 is "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality". This theme aims to recognise and celebrate the contribution women and girls are making to technology and online education.  IWD 2023 will also explore the impact of the digital gender gap on inequality for women and girls, as the UN estimates that women's lack of access to the online world will cause a $1.5 trillion loss to gross domestic product of low and middle-income countries by 2025 if action isn't taken.

There are also other themes around. The International Women's Day website - which says it's designed to "provide a platform to help forge positive change for women" - has chosen the theme #EmbraceEquity with organisers and events seeking to "challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion".

(Source www.bbc.com/ news)