For more than a century, March 8 has been celebrated as International Women’s Day (IWD) in countries across the globe. And while about a dozen of them have recognised it as an official holiday, the purpose of this day varies from nation to nation. Some observe it as a day of protest while, for others, it is a means to honour women’s accomplishments and promote gender equality. And despite the number of social media posts on this day, it is more than just a hashtag.
Given that and the fact that the theme for IWD 2023 is “Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future”, women’s exclusion from the digital world came at a loss of $1 trillion from the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of low- and middle-income countries over the past years. This is predicted to grow up to $1.5 trillion this year if no action is taken.
Meanwhile, as per the IWD website, the campaign for this year will run under the #EmbraceEquity hashtag with an aim to “get the world talking about why equal opportunities are no longer enough and can in fact be exclusionary, rather than inclusive.” Equity, after all, isn’t a choice, but a necessity for building a more sustainable and peaceful world.
As a result, it is not only critical to recognise and celebrate women’s accomplishments but also to highlight the prevailing inequalities and seed gender fairness in the DNA of every individual. But before devising any meaningful action, it is perhaps, important to look at IWD’s history and the movements to learn from them as well as replicate their success.
IWD began life as National Women’s Day in the United States back in 1909 in light of 15,000 women marching through the streets of New York City, raising demands for shorter work hours, better pay as well as voting rights. Then, in 1917, women in Russia commemorated the day by going on a strike for food and peace, protesting against World War I and campaigning for gender equality.
From thereon, the day was acknowledged and celebrated in other parts of the world by people at the grassroots level as a rallying point for social justice. Yet, it was not until 1975 that the United Nations adopted March 8 as IWD.
Since its formal inception, we have come a long way; from once not having the right to vote, women are now leading countries; from facing restrictions on where they work, they are now running organisations; and from where once women had no seat at decision-making tables, their place is often secure.
Equality in its truest form, however, still eludes women. And despite living in the modern 21st century, we are nowhere near the goal of even achieving it. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2022—at the current rate of progress—it could take up to 132 years to reach full parity. Further, the Covid-19 pandemic, which saw women and girls being disproportionately affected, has threatened past decades of progress towards gender equality.
Besides, the issues that pushed women onto the streets more than 100 years ago — vocalising their disappointment against the poor workplace conditions, equal rights, rampant exploitation, equal pay, among others — are prevalent even today. As per UN Women, one in three women across the globe continues to experience physical or sexual violence, which is further exacerbated by conflicts, the climate crisis, and extensive militarisation.
Similarly, according to an analysis of median hourly earnings of both full and part-time workers, conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2022, women earned an average of 82% of what men earned. There also exist huge gaps in women’s political empowerment where, as of September 2022, only 30 women were serving as elected heads of state and/or of government in 28 countries out of a total of 193 UN member-States.
These, despite the establishment of several legislations to ensure the fundamental rights of women at both the global as well as the national level. But the meaningful implementation of these laws has time and again been confronted with challenges that include the lack of political will, insufficient resources, and bureaucratic blocks, thereby limiting women’s access to safety and justice.
And lest we forget that concrete, structural changes take a lot of time to come. It is owing to these reasons that IWD’s persistent message — to promote gender equality — remains relevant. Aside from honouring women’s social, economic, cultural and political contributions, IWD serves as a reminder to acknowledge the compounded challenges confronting women.
Here’s to a Happy Women’s Day, and happier ones ahead of us.
Akanksha Khullar is a visiting fellow with the Observer Research Foundation
The views expressed are personal
