Words by Tess Becker
International Women’s Day is a 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.
Amongst the attack on reproductive health and LGBTQ+ rights in the United States, International Women’s Day hopes to shine a light on equality and a better future for all women.
To celebrate this year, participants are being asked to embrace themselves, as a public display to embrace equity, and share it on social media. That’s this year’s theme #EmbraceEquity.
“Equity isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a must-have,” the IWD writes on its website. “A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society's DNA. And it's critical to understand the difference between equity and equality.
“The aim of the IWD 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about why equal opportunities aren't enough. People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action.”
While some countries have massive rallies and events for International Women’s Day, in the US the festivities are a little more low-key and widespread.
There is the 4th annual International Women’s Day Together We Ride: A Bike Ride for Equity, Inclusion and Positive Social Change from March 8th to the 12th.
The National Museum of Women in the Arts has a day-long virtual arts festival where museum staff, artists, musicians, and bartenders will host online programs highlighting women in the visual and performing arts.
Amazon Web Services is conducting a chat with executives from Boeing, Cornerstone, Laserfiche, and MapBox, about how to #EmbraceEquity within their organization and community.
There are many many more events that you can look up on the International Women’s Day website, with different events in every state.
Aside from that you can just take part in the #EmbraceEquity initiative, and even if you don’t have social media you can share your embrace photo on the International Women’s Day website.
“IWD provides a critical moment to amplify and reinforce commitment, and to forge action promoting gender parity,” the IWD writes. “Celebrating women's achievements is also key. The IWD campaign theme continues all year through, unifying action to help forge an inclusive world.”
