In 1908, thousands of women flooded the streets of New York City calling for improved working conditions and the right to vote. This nascent protest movement, which spread to other areas of the world, marked what some consider the first International Women’s Day.
Since that time, International Women’s Day has grown and extended its reach globally through the decades. It is now recognized and supported in more than 100 countries across the globe, serving as a vehicle to celebrate the progress made toward creating a more gender-inclusive world, as well as a catalyst to encourage individual and collective actions that empower women and promote gender equality.
Improvements in gender equality have been shown to have a positive impact on people, families, communities, and societies as a whole. The more that women and men can live and work together as equal partners, and the more they can share essential resources including food, shelter, health care, and education; fulfillment of family responsibilities; ability to express their opinions; control of economic assets; and freedom from fear and violence, the easier it is to secure a better life for the entire family.