International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on the 8th of March. An annual theme is presented to put focus on a specific issue. “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change,” is the theme for 2019. This year was chosen to highlight on the disruptive changes that women have made and industry leaders in technological fields.
The first time International Women’s Day was celebrated was the 19th March, 1911. Before that the struggle for women’s rights was in its fledgling stages. Later the date was changed to the current one. The entire event was meant to raise concern about the political, social and economic problems that women face.
In its early years, it was mostly connected to working women’s rights, but it eventually encompassed the many facets of women’s lives. International Women’s Day was initially celebrated in Eastern Europe before it became an international phenomenon.
In 1975, the UN celebrated International Women’s Year and later on, in 1977, they started the annual tradition of International Women’s Day. It was meant as a commemoration of the progress women have made and are continuing to make.
Keeping the theme with what this year represents the campaign theme is #BalanceforBetter. It is just to represent the continuing need for an equal platform for men and women. This year, in particular, the movement will focus on influential women in mathematics, technology, science, engineering and design. This day is especially important to the women’s movement as it proves to be a wide-scale awareness campaign that is effective.
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