INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK
Celebrate International Women’s Week, the week of March 8th, during International Women’s Day. According to the website Gender Champions, the week sprang from the day’s observance because there were so many events that it was difficult to attend them in one day.
It is a week of celebration, education, and awareness surrounding women’s and gender issues. Women’s Week focuses on five pillars:
- Building relationships
- Self-knowledge
- Sexual assault & interpersonal violence
- Healthy self-image
- Leadership development.
The United Nations marks the week with annual conferences on equality.
HOW TO OBSERVE #InternationalWomensWeek
Join a march or attend a women’s networking event. Donate your time or skills to your local women’s shelter. Become an advocate and speak up for gender diversity in the workplace. Follow on social media using #WomensWeek or IWW and follow on Facebook.
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK HISTORY
In 1908, the Socialist Party of America organized a day to protest women’s working conditions. Read about the first all-women’s strike in New Hampshire 80 years before for an idea of how important these events were.
The first National Woman’s Day (singular “woman”) was made official in the United States on February 28, 1909. Later, it was moved to March 8th and renamed International Women’s Day (plural form). Then, in the 1980s, International Women’s Day expanded to include a full week of activities during the first week of March, including International Women’s Day.
