International Womens Day
It’s that time of year again… HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY!!!
What is International Women’s Day?
I have a love-hate relationship with this day, and I’ll get into the reasons why later on! But, it has to be said that this day is an amazing way for women to come together from all over the world, different backgrounds, sectors, ages, races… the list goes on… to celebrate being/identifying as a woman!
This years theme is “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress” which looks to target economic disempowerment that women experience and aiming to close this gap.There is always an overarching theme of inspiring inclusion, but economic disempowerment is when there are gaps in access to education, health, financial services, and legal barriers to women's economic participation. This can in turn all negatively impact financial stability and a countries ability to achieve strong and sustainable economic growth (Christopherson et al., 2022). Basically… if we don’t allow women access to these areas, there cannot be a sustainable economy, THEY NEED US!
The journey to International Women’s Day as we know it today has been a bumpy one, starting back in the early 1900’s. Here’s a whistle stop tour:
In 1908 noise began in New York
Women demanded shorter hours and better pay as well as the right to vote
Too right!!
In 1909, the first National Women’s Day in the US was held.
In 1910 Clara Zetkin called for an International Women’s Day to be observed worldwide.
In 1911, the first IWD was held in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March.
In 1913, amidst war campaigns, after many discussions, it was decided that IWD would be held on the 8th of March every year: this has been the case ever since!
Through 1914 women kept hosting rallies against the war and to show that they stood in solidarity as WOMEN!
In 1996, the UN began to announce themes for IWD beginning with “celebrating the past,Planning for the future’
Unfortunately in the 2000’s, there was a significant drop off in the topic of feminism and it appeared the world had moved on…
BUT… in 2001, the online platform for IWD was created and launched to re-energise the movement,
This platform is still around today proving us information about IWD and further gender topics.
Now when we think about IWD, we have already reached the 100 year centenary for the International day, as well as seeing a massive influence from social media around this,
So what is our story 2024 and beyond? And what is its place in sport?…
Okay so let’s talk a little bit more about the part that isn’t all smiles, sunshine and rainbows… I know, I’m a buzz kill…
Although IWD is extremely positive for bringing us together as a community, it is worth noting that for some, usually more commercial companies and businesses, this can be seen as a ‘tick box exercise’,
Although this will not be the case all the time, we do need to be aware of this to make sure we know who is doing the work all year round, as well as on the national day,
We want to see a REAL change for women and in women’s sport, so posting and championing for one day a year is NOT ENOUGH!
If you take anything from this blog, please challenge this and ask the question whether there is inclusivity work being done all year round to improve inclusion in general, but also in the sporting space for women!
So, with this being said, IWD is a really great place to:
Support other athletes, coaches, team mates, and sport professionals to allow us to have a solid support system in place even before beginning to try and instil change
Take the time to learn about the issues and barriers women are facing, this applies to both men and women! There will always be something to learn about and to learn how to support
Encourage team mates, coaches, colleges, friends, and family to talk about IWD and also to talk about the work that still needs to happen
I am also going to put to you, and ask that you actively decide to make one positive change in your personal or work life that will benefit women. This can be something as simple as sharing a post that is advocating for barriers that women are facing to spread the word; to bringing ideas to your colleges and boss around making the work place more inclusive. Let’s start making the change from US!
In conclusion…
I promise that is my small but important rant over! I hope you found this blog beneficial, please see below for our social links to join our networks and see more around IWD. If you would like to get in touch, please send us a message or email!
References and further reading
Game on: The unstoppable rise of women’s sport
Anstiss, S. (2022). Game on: The unstoppable rise of women’s sport. Unbound.
Tackling Legal Impediments to Women’s Economic Empowerment
Christopherson, K., Yiadom, A., Johnson, J., Fernando, F., Yazid, H., & Thiemann, C. (2022). Tackling Legal Impediments to Women’s Economic Empowerment. International Monetary Fund. https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi2tM2XsuCEAxUz7rsIHaPXAs0QFnoECA4QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.imf.org%2F-%2Fmedia%2FFiles%2FPublications%2FWP%2F2022%2FEnglish%2Fwpiea2022037-print-pdf.ashx%23%3A~%3Atext%3DConversely%252C%2520the%2520economic%2520disempowerment%2520of%2Cstrong%2520and%2520sustainable%2520economic%2520growth.&usg=AOvVaw2vAWgeKQWDocPaB4AkqUY-&opi=89978449
Global interest in women’s sports is on the rise
Dirango. (2021, January 29). Global interest in women’s sports is on the rise. Nielsen Sports. https://nielsensports.com/global-interest-womens-sports-rise/
History of international women’s day
International Women’s Day. (n.d.). History of international women’s day. https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/15586/The-history-of-IWD