Today is International Women’s Day. If you’re already down with the history, then my apologies, but I for one learned A LOT about some badass women in preparation for this blog post. Please allow me to share a few tidbits (which, besides being inspiring, may potentially help you kill it in your next pub quiz….jussayin’).
Way back in 1908, 15,000 women gathered together and marched through New York City. They demanded some key rights for women – mostly notably, the right to vote, more equitable pay and shorter working hours. In doing so, they planted the seeds for what we now celebrate every March 8th - International Women’s Day, or IWD for short.
But the credit for the creation of an international day to honour women actually has to go to communist activist and advocate for women’s rights, Clara Zetkin. In 1910, she presented her idea to an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen and, in a powerful display of unanimity, all 100 of the female attendees, representing 17 countries, agreed to her proposal. It took until 1975 for IWD to be finally recognized by the UN as an official day in 1975, which means that 2022 marks the 111th year!
So what is IWD?
International Women’s Day is a date to take stock of the major strides women have made in the realms of politics, economics and society. It also provides an opportunity to raise awareness about continuing inequality and to demand change.
Different parts of the world celebrate IWD in different ways. In London, there are demos, marches, and networking events for women striving for equality. In China, many women only have to work half a day on March 8th. In Italy, where the day has a very musical sounding name - la Festa della Donna - it's been a tradition since after WWII for women to give and receive mimosa blossoms. Over in the United States, the entire month of March is dedicated to honour the achievements of American women, in Women’s History Month.
Desana and IWD
The all-female marketing team - in a company which values gender equality, with 4 females heading up departments and a 50/50 gender split - wanted to do something to mark this important day.
So we invited the badass superwomen at the helm of the workspaces we partner with all over the world to share their personal story, what IWD means to them, and what their hopes are for gender equality in the future.
Check out our gallery for a dose of inspiration.
With Desana you have access to ARC Club, Second Home, IDEA spaces, TheWorkHub, Good Work, HubHub, and 657 Oslo - as well as dozens of other women-led spaces.