Today is International Women’s Day, a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
In addition, it’s a call to action day to raise awareness and take part in gender equality events and raise funding for women-focused organizations.
People around the world attend online events, presentations, panel discussions, and other celebrations to reflect on the progress made and celebrate advances made by women in our lives.
What is International Women’s Day?
From the first event in the United States over a hundred years ago, International Women’s Day has expanded to a global celebration held March 8 to commemorate and raise awareness of gender equality.
While much has been accomplished over the years, there is more to be done.
According to the United Nations,
less than 25 percent of parliamentarians were women, as of 2019. One in three women experience gender-based violence, still.
The first Women’s Day event took place in 1908, when garment workers marched in New York City to demand better working conditions: shorter hours, better pay, and the right to vote.
The day became more widespread when the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975.
This year’s theme, Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world celebrates the efforts by women and girls around the world to shape a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Get Involved
With the move to online events this year, there are a number of different ways to get involved with International Women’s Day.
Here are three of my favorites:
1. United Nations Observance of International Women’s Day 2021
Hosted by Sophia Pierre-Antoine, International Organization for Migration and former Board Co-Chair of FRIDA Young Feminist Fund, presentations, panel discussion, videos, and musical performances will be held in a two-hour online broadcast.
A few of the speakers include:
- H.E. António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations
- H.E. Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly
- H.E. Mher Margaryan, Chair of the 65th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women
- Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women
- Somaya Faruqi, Member of the Afghan Girls Robotic Team
Eva Longoria, actress, activist, producer, and philanthropist, will give a special video message
Musical performances by Pihcintu Chorus, Angelica Hale and Broadway Singers.
The event is March 8, 2021 from 10am to noon Eastern Time (convert to your time zone) on United Nations Web TV and YouTube.
2. Wikipedia Online Workshop: Increase Representation of Women in Science
Did you know less than 19% of Wikipedia biographies in English represent women? Or that less than 10% of Wikipedia editors are women?
On March 25, 2021 at 1pm to 3pm Eastern Time, learn how to contribute to Wikipedia and increase the number of women in science represented on Wikipedia.
The Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Biodiversity Heritage Library, and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative have partnered together to offer an online training workshop
Attendees will learn
- Basics of how to edit Wikipedia by updating articles related to women in science
- How to research the work of these women in the absence of personal papers and institutional records
The training is free, but you need to pre-register. I’m participating, won’t you join me?
3. 8 Talks by Women to Inspire UX Designers
While the user experience field is well-represented by women, there are not a large number of women in leadership roles.
The Interaction Design Foundation gathered a collection of eight talks by women leaders and decision makers in the design community to encourage and inspire diverse thinking and equality.
From a TED talk by Giorgia Lupi (one of my favorite TED Talks I shared on this site) to Elizabeth Churchill talking about user research to Indi Young discussing the different types of empathy, you’ll find captivating stories and helpful ideas for ensuring we design for everyone.
Summary
Get involved with International Women’s Day!
I invite you to join any of the events I’ve included in this post. If you didn’t find any that interest you, check out International Women’s Day events for other choices.
Which International Women’s Day events do you plan to attend?
