With March fast approaching, I wanted to find out more about International Women’s Day in today’s fortnightly relationship with self-blog series. And woah, what a way we have come!

What Is International Women’s Day?

For those who aren’t sure, International Women’s Day is a global celebration of all achievements of women, socially, economically, culturally and politically, celebrated annually on 8^th March. The day itself promotes women’s rights and gender equality, with the first National Women’s Day celebrated in 1911.

The theme of 2022

This year, the theme of International Women’s Day is #BreakTheBias, promoting a world that is free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination. Creating a world that is diverse and inclusive, where difference is valued and celebrated. 

What colours symbolise International Women’s Day?

Purple – Signifies justice and dignity

Green – Symbolizing Hope

White – Representing Purity

Women’s rights and gender equality have been a real problem for a very long time now, and to think it is still a huge issue, in 2022, is mind boggling! I think we can all agree that it is defiantly a topic that needs fast addressing. Female or male, we are all largely capable of the same thing, and all of equal value, so why is this controversial barrier still around? I wish I had the answer to that question, but I don’t.

Gender equality is not only a human right, but also the way forward for a more peaceful and sustainable world, and although there have been a huge number of changes for women over the last decades, women still seem to be underrepresented.

No matter the gender, every individual should feel confident and free to pursue any career, lifestyle choice and opportunity, without facing any sort of discrimination.

Awareness – When making any progress with anything in life, awareness is key! If our society doesn’t recognise that gender inequality is a real thing, change is by far impossible.

This is a subject I feel so strongly about, and I’m sure many others do too. My children are still very young, and so have no idea what goes on in the world, however, I hope that when they are older and grown up, there will be no such thing as gender discrimination. 

How can you support International Women’s Day?

You could wear the 3 symbolising colours to work on the 8^th March, or when out and about.

If we all stand together, we can #BreakTheBias! Cross your arms to show solidarity.

Strike the IWD 2022 pose and share your #BreakTheBias image, video, resources, presentation or articles on social media using #IWD2022 #BreakTheBias to encourage further people to commit to helping forge an inclusive world.

You can find lots more ways to ‘Get Involved’, access to resources, join of hold International Women’s Day events over on the IWD website https://www.internationalwomensday.com/About

In the words of Shania Twain…. ‘Let’s go girls’