The global theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity
Embrace: ‘to willingly and enthusiastically accept/adopt a belief, theory or change’
– When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity and we embrace inclusion.
– We embrace equity to forge harmony and unity, and to help drive success for all.
Equality is the goal, and equity is the means to get there.
Through the process of EQUITY, we can reach EQUALITY.
Observed annually on March 8, International Women’s Day celebrates the global “social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women”. It emerged from women’s rights movements in the U.S. and other industrialising countries during the early 1900s. The Socialist Party of America declared the first National Women’s Day in 1909. It would be observed on the last Sunday of February until 1913.
The following year, at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Denmark, the idea of an International Women’s Day was proposed and approved. The event was observed on March 19, 1911 in several European countries, with rallies and events calling for women’s right to vote and an end to gender discriminations.
Since 1914, March 8 has been the fixed date for International Women’s Day; it was moved to be in line with Russian women who celebrated the day on February 23 on the Gregorian calendar. The United Nations first recognised International Women’s Day in 1975.
“The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”