Mother, sisters, wives, girlfriends, and fiancees…what would we ever do without them? Nobody can honestly say we don’t owe an enormous amount to the women in our lives, from the mothers who made us chicken soup when we were sick as children, to the sisters who helped us decide what to wear on our first date, to the wives who somehow manage to juggle both a career and a family, never missing a beat. Women’s Day is all about celebrating these incredible people and showing them how much we love, respect, and value them.
This holiday is especially significant in parts of the world where women are still forced to deal with shocking inequality on a daily basis and are meant to raise awareness of the challenges and struggles faced by these women. Women’s Day celebrates women’s history, highlighting key events, milestones, and achievements, and aims to further promote and raise awareness of women’s rights and to achieve equal opportunity status in all walks of life.
WHEN IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021?
International Women’s Day is on March 8. The achievements of women and how far they have come in the fight for their rights within the political, cultural, and social spheres is celebrated.
History of Women’s Day
It may be a rather sad surprise that Women’s Day was first celebrated on February 28th, 1909, in New York. Two years later, German socialist Luise Zietz proposed that the holiday become an annually observed one that would celebrate various women’s issues, such as suffrage, so as to promote equal rights for women. The first few Women’s Days were celebrated in a quite different fashion than they are nowadays, with hundreds of demonstrations taking place in Europe. During these demonstrations, women demanded they finally be given both the right to vote and to hold public office.
Employment sex discrimination was also an important issue. In 1917, the Women’s Day demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia, helped initiate the February Revolution, when women marched through the city demanding an end to World War I. This shocked even Leon Trotsky, who, much like other Russian leaders of the day, did not expect the Women’s Day protests to cause that much of a stir. Until 1977, Women’s Day was celebrated mainly in socialist countries. It was only after the United Nations General Assembly’s decision to proclaim March 8th International Women’s Day that the holiday gained worldwide popularity.
Additional Findings
2017 — THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING AMERICAN WOMEN
#1: Unequal pay (23%)
#2: The ability to balance a career and children (22%)
#3: Sexual violence (15%)
#4: Sexual objectification (15%)
#5: Reproductive rights (11%)
#6: Underrepresentation in politics (7%)
#7: Underrepresentation in business leadership (6%)
2018 — THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING AMERICAN WOMEN
#1: Sexual violence (38%)
#2: Sexual objectification (35%)
#3: Unequal pay (34%)
#4: The ability to balance a career and children (32%)
#5: Underrepresentation in business leadership (20%)
#6: Reproductive rights (19%)
#7: Underrepresentation in politics (16%)
2018 — PROSECUTING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT CRIMINALS
America should prosecute sexual assault and harassment criminals…
#1: More often (58%)
#2: The same amount (20%)
#3: The same amount, but reach more guilt verdicts (14%)
#4: Less often (7%)
2018 — THE BEST WAY TO STOP SEXUAL ASSAULT AND HARASSMENT
#1: A stricter legal system (43%)
#2: Prosecuting more criminals (43%)
#3: Better education (42%)
#4: Eliminating rape culture in media (35%)
#5: Workplace equality (29%)
BY THE NUMBER
163.2 million – the number of females in the United States as of July 2015.
24% – the percentage of women in the U.S. Senate.
29% – the percentage of women in state legislative seats.
0% – the percentage of women as presidents of the United States.
40 billion – the number of hours spent by women in sub-Saharan Africa collecting water.
⅔ – of the world’s 796 million illiterate people are women.
1 in 3 – women around the world experience violence.
2.7 billion – the number of women who don’t have the same work opportunities as men.
82 million – the number of women worldwide who don’t have any legal protection against workplace discrimination.
650 million – the number of women who are married before the age of 18 across the world.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY DATES
Year | Date | Day |
---|---|---|
2021 | March 8 | Monday |
2022 | March 8 | Tuesday |
2023 | March 8 | Wednesday |
2024 | March 8 | Friday |
2025 | March 8 | Saturday |