My Mother, My Hero, My Heart, My Twin, happy International Women's Day
Collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity is what makes International Women's Day impactful. Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist once explained "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." So make International Women's Day, your day and do what you can to truly make a positive difference for women.
International Women's Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.
IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organisation specific.
The event, which has been going for more than 100 years, is a day that celebrates 'the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women' whilst also calling for equality - where men and women are treated the same.
There's a different theme to mark the special day each year, and this time around, it's 'Embrace Equity'. Equity is all about fairness and ensuring that everyone is treated equally.
For International Women's Day 2023, people from every society are being encouraged to fully embrace equity and to recognise that every person has different circumstances.
This means they should be given the resources and opportunities they need to achieve success and reach an equal outcome to others, instead of simply being given the exact same resources as other people.
"Equity can be defined as giving everyone what they need to be successful," the organisers say.
"In other words, it's not giving everyone the exact same thing. If we give everyone the exact same thing, expecting that will make people equal, it assumes that everyone started out in the same place - and this can be vastly inaccurate because everyone isn't the same."
International Women's Day is special for lots of people and it's a time to think about and celebrate the important women who have positively impacted our lives.
Whether it's a family member, teacher, celebrity, historical figure or mentor, we want to hear about the inspirational women in your life. Which women inspire you? Let us know in the comments below!
Happy International Women's Day xx