International Women’s Day is observed annually on March 8 and celebrates the global “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women,” according to the International Women’s Day website. The day also calls for action to advance gender equality (Mayorquin, 2022).
The Socialist Party of America first declared National Women’s Day in 1909. It would be observed on the last Sunday of February until 1913. In 1910, at the second International Conference of Working Women, a gathering of women from activist and political organizations in Copenhagen, the idea of an International Women’s Day was proposed and approved (Mayorquin, 2022).
Can you imagine what it would be like to live in a world with gender and race equality? The United States has not been the leader for these issues. The women in this country can all relate to the bias toward women as it relates to the social, economic, cultural and political lack of achievements. In 2022, we still have women claiming to be the first and it is very dismal for women of the global majority.
The best performers in this endeavor are the Nordic countries, who have frequently monopolized the top spots in the ranking, and 2020 was no exception. Just below second-placed Norway was Finland and Sweden. In fifth place was Nicaragua, followed by New Zealand, Ireland, Spain, Rwanda and Germany. The most-improved countries were Albania, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico and Spain. The United States fell two spots and is now 53rd in 2020. The world’s second-largest economy, China also fell and is 106th place (Hutt, 2019).
The theme for 2022 is #BreakTheBias and asks the world to call out instances of bias against women in various venues, that include the workplace, school and at home. You can show your support for this year’s theme by posting selfies to social media posing with your arms crossed with the hashtags #BreaktheBias and #IWD2022 (Mayorquin, 2022).
Just keeping you informed!
References
Hutt, R. (2019). These 10 countries are closest to achieving gender equality. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/12/gender-gap-equality-women-parity-countries/
International Women”s Day. (2022). https://www.internationalwomensday.com/
Mayorquin, O. (2022). What to know about International Women’s Day and the theme for 2022. https://news.yahoo.com/breakthebias-know-international-womens-day-191012536.html?fr=yhssrp_catchall
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