Celebrate International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide on the 8th of March. International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe. Since then, International Women’s Day has become a global movement for women in developed and developing countries to build support for women’s rights and participation in the political and economic arenas.
International Women’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate the progress women have made. South Africa has many brave women in its history that have shaped and influenced democracy and human rights. It is an opportunity to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.
The IWD 2016 campaign theme is #PledgeForParity. Worldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement and we have much to celebrate. But progress towards gender parity has slowed in many places. Everyone – men and women – can pledge to take a concrete step to help achieve gender equality.
Everyone can do something to help women and girls achieve their ambitions, call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible cultures or root out workplace bias. Each of us can be a leader within our own spheres of influence and commit to take real action to accelerate gender equality.
What will you do today to make a difference for our future generations?