By Ricardo Lezama La Cartita (@LaCartita)
08/mar/2023
On March 8, International Women’s Day will be celebrated around the world in commemorations of activism, advocacy, and progress that has been achieved by women.
The date serves as an opportunity to reflect on the gaps of rights between women and men, and celebrate the achievements of female activists and individuals.
The day had its first roots in 1909 when American activist Theresa Malkiel suggested the observation of a National Women’s Day in the United States. In 1910, at an International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an International Women’s Day. All the women present from seventeen different countries gave unanimous approval to her idea, and the initial celebration of this day occurred in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on March 19th, 1911.
This year’s day of appreciation for women’s empowerment comes as the UN’s theme is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”
The theme of the United Nations’ 2023 commemoration emphasizes not only the necessity of technology in the furtherance of rights, but also the widening digital gender gap that is influencing female job opportunities, online safety, and the number of women engaging in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics occupations (STEM). It is estimated that 259 million women worldwide lack access to the internet compared to men, illustrating the inequality that still exists.
International Women’s Day is an important reminder to recognize and appreciate the progress that has been made, but also to continue to challenge the inequalities that remain and advocate for equal rights for all.