Participate in a Women’s Network Even that Spans the Globe
International Women’s Day Represents Massive Women’s Network
When it comes to great ways to celebrate women and promote women’s issues at the same time, the International Women’s Day Centenary stands out at as a remarkable achievement, and an incredible opportunity. Coordinating the activities of many women’s groups, the 2011 celebrations will feature more than 1,000 events across the globe.
Though the day is not an official holiday in the United States, as it is in some roughly 30 countries primarily of the developing world, March 8 will see a global women’s network collectively express its pride across the United Sates and the globe in public marches, speeches, exhibits, parties, and artistic performances. The commemorative day has come to be a chance for women to express their pride, love, and support for one another and to expect the same from the males in their lives. However, this is not its only role nor does it reflect how the day began.
The organization’s website states that the first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States on February 28, 1909. Conflicting reports site March 19, 1911 as the first official, globally organized day. Regardless, experts all agree on one thing: observance of a national and international day to honor women began as Socialist political event. In fact, throughout the first quarter of the 20th Century the various events associated with the day and the groups that held them had a decidedly confrontational and populist bent. This led to peace rallies opposing both the first and second World Wars and others to raise awareness of inhuman working conditions in New York.
Since the mid 1900s, the day’s tone has been slightly more mainstream and recognized. In the 1970’s the United Nations began holding an international meeting to coordinate the efforts of the vast women’s network, to draw attention to women’s issues, and to show its support for efforts to achieve the political, social, and economic advancement of women’s issues.
In 2011, International Women’s Day celebrations will join thousands of online women’s groups and international organizations in emphasizing the importance of education for women and girls, with the theme of “Equal access to education, training, and science and technology: a pathway to decent work for women.”
