International Women’s Day
more often than not, women are still under-represented in politics and big business, are paid less than men – yes, in the UK, too – and are still more likely to be victims of violence and discrimination
Stand up and be counted and celebrate International Women’s Day with these inspirational women hand picked by Siobhan Norton.
‘Why do we even need an International Women’s Day? It’s not like there’s an International Men’s Day?’ Bet you’ve heard that once or twice. The normal retort is: ‘Because every day is International Men’s Day.’ Seriously, though, hasn’t the battle of the sexes not been won? Is it a bit outdated to have a day for women?
Not even close. Many battles may have been fought and one in the name of equality, but the war is far from over.
International Women’s Day (IWD) began in the early 1900s, when civil unrest began to grow among women across the western world. In 1911, to mark the day, more than one million women and men attended IWD rallies in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination.
Today, the movement has spread across the world, and IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts.
In the hundred or so years since the inauguration of IWD, huge advances have been made. In many countries, women can work and have a family, can go to university, can vote, can hold important positions in politics and the boardroom, all things that many of us take for granted. But, more often than not, women are still underrepresented in politics and big business, are paid less than men – yes, in the UK, too – and are still more likely to be victims of violence and discrimination. IWD’s theme this year is Make It Happen – is about celebrating women’s achievements while calling for greater equality. Here are just some of the women we think represents that in the worlds of sport, social media, fashion, journalism, politics and technology.
Kathrine Switzer
The American author and commentator will be well known in athletics circles – she was the first numbered woman to run the Boston Marathon in 1967. Even more remarkable, she ran it five years before women were officially allowed to enter. The photos of race official Jock Semple attempted to physically remove her from the race made newspapers around the world, and have gone down in history to represent this one-woman protest. She has since worked to improved women’s opportunities around the world, and her memoir, Marathon Woman, was published on the 40th anniversary of the marathon in 2007.