March 8 is a day for celebrating women all around the world. According to internationalwomensday.com, today is one of the most important days of the year to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s equality, fundraise for female-focused charities and lobby for accelerated gender parity.
Let’s go back a few decades to 1911, when the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19. Millions of men and women rallied together, fighting for women’s rights to vote, work and ultimately to end discrimination against women. This day was empowering for women, but less than a week later the infamous and devastating Triangle of Fire killed more than 140 working women in New York City. This event became the focus of International Women’s Day for years to come and highlighted the importance of the day.
The official colors to symbolize International Women’s Day are purple, which signifies dignity and justice, green, which represents hope, and white, which is a symbol of purity.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge because, “A challenged world is an alert world.”
International Women’s Day is not meant to be celebrated by one country, organization or group, it is a day to be celebrated by people all over the world. So, thank your boss, mom or best friend, and tell them they are appreciated and seen.
“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organization, but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” – Gloria Steinem, world-renowned journalist and activist.