Today is International Women's Day. Radar looked at its history and what it means today.
International Women’s Day has been celebrated for over 100 years. The first event was held in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where over one-million men and women campaigned for the women’s right to vote and against discrimination. The day was held on 19th of March, until 1913 when the day changed to March 8th.
In 1975 the day was recognised by the United Nations and since 1996 they have had an annual theme: this year’s theme is “Be Bold for Change”.
Each year the day celebrates all achievements of all women. It is also often used to raise awareness of issues affecting women and girls across the globe.
This year in Aberdeen, the music venue Tunnels is holding an event featuring live music and spoken word. Meanwhile Aberdeen University is holding a conference to raise awareness of issues affecting women in the workplace. Here at RGU inspirational women (students, lecturers and staff) are being celebrated in a display within the university.
First year Journalism student and founder of the Gender Equality society, Rebecca Anderson said: “It’s about women celebrating themselves as a person and not just the stereotype of the housewife and stuff like that.
“I’m sure there’s a lot of women in International Women’s Day and that is what they’re celebrated for. But it’s also good to have women who have broken that barrier, and achieved very high education and be in high level positions at work. I do think it’s very important for them to be congratulated because I know it can be harder for them, even today, to do that.”
Make your #BeBoldForChange pledge on the International Women’s Day site to register your support.