Why International Women’s Day is important – even in the era of ‘days’ to mark everything

There’s a day for everything these, erm, days. This month you may be celebrating World Puppetry Day (21st), or perhaps World Oral Health Day (20th). In the US, there are somehow two National Doughnut Days.

It’s easy to slot International Women’s Day (IWD) into the same category: “awareness days”, mainly symbolic, which are handy for charities but don’t much trouble the rest of us.

That would perhaps be the case without the work of activists and storytellers around the country and world who will flood your newspapers, radios, televisions and social media feeds today with stories of women doing brilliant things: becoming a world champion archer despite extreme poverty, say, or passing the UK’s first anti-FGM legislation.

Around the world

Some countries mark the day in a more concrete way. In China, women get a half day off work, while in Italy women are given flowers by men and each other. (Speaking as an unbiased observer, I would be open to the introduction of either tradition this country).

Perhaps more to the point, on this day last year, Iceland became the first country in the world to require employers to prove they offer equal pay regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexuality and nationality.

We shouldn’t need a day to remind us of the value of women (or oral health, for that matter). But judging by the continuing pay gap, harassment scandals, and power structures disadvantaging women worldwide, we do. Enjoy the stories you read today – they might hold some answers on how we can make the rest of the year a little more women-friendly, too.

Most Read By Subscribers