International Women’s Day 2023
Every March 8th, millions of people from around the world come together to celebrate the various social, political, cultural, and economic achievements reached by women. Simultaneously, this global day also acts as a call to action to continue the fight for women’s equality in all spaces. International Women’s Day is also unique in that it is a day that is not restricted to a solitary country or organization; when it comes to the celebration and commemoration of women’s rights, everyone is invited to join.
While women and their potential have been celebrated by socialist groups all over the world since the early 20th century, it wasn’t until 1977 that the United Nations adopted International Women’s Day as a global holiday. And like any great celebration, this came with themes. From Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future in 1996 to Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow in 2022, the UN has chosen a unique theme to focus its attention and efforts on every year. The primary goal? To commemorate the strides that have been made in the name of feminism, and to continue the work that still needs to be done.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. With gender inequalities becoming more and more apparent in the field of digital technology, inclusion will be vital going forward. The goal of 2023 is to introduce and uplift women in digital technological spaces to encourage creativity, and innovation, and “increase the awareness of women and girls regarding their rights and civic engagement” (Source: UN Women).
Despite the general goodwill inspired by the day, there is still one question that continues to haunt every March 8th. Do we even still need an International Women’s Day? It’s 2023; surely women have achieved total equality by now, haven’t they?
The truth is that there is still so much left to do to see this goal come to life. In a recent global report by the World Economic Forum, experts concluded that our generation (and maybe even the next) will never see true gender parity in our lifetime. We have made several strides forward in equality, but we cannot let ourselves become complacent when there are still miles to go in this global journey.
So, remember to do your part this International Women’s Day; engage in advocacy, encourage education, and take a moment to celebrate all the women in your life!
