Mar 8: International Women’s Day
Every year on March 8th, people from around the globe unite in solidarity for International Women’s Day (IWD). Created in 1911, this annual day of advocacy and action is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of all women, to increase awareness of the barriers and discrimination women continue to face, and to promote gender equity for all people who identify as women.
The campaign theme for this year is Accelerate Action for gender equity, which emphasizes “the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality” (IWD, 2025). It is an important call to action for people and policy makers across the globe to increase the urgency at which barriers and biases women face globally are addressed. It is a global “call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women’s advancement” (IWD, 2025).
While achieving true gender equality may seem like an immovable mountain to overcome, we as social workers can take some tangible steps to normalize the conversation, spread awareness of ongoing inequities, and be an active advocate and change agent when possible. We can challenge workplace inequities disadvantage women from experiencing professional advancement, we can empower our clients to actively advocate for themselves and other women, and we can promote and enhance education around gender inequity and the efforts we can take in our lives to help eliminate it.
This year, as an act of solidarity and unity, consider promoting International Women’s Day in your personal and professional lives by sharing resources that have been developed to support advocacy efforts on this day. Some ideas for meaningfully engaging in this day could include:
Send out an email blast to your organization highlighting IWD and statistics around gender inequality; are there any statistics related to women in your specific area of work?
Update your virtual meeting background, email signature, and social media posts to promote the day using the free materials created by IWD (found here)
Host a movie or documentary showing at your workplace over lunch hour – for a unique list of short documentary’s about woman’s rights and equity, check out the National Film Board of Canada’s recommendations
If you are interested in attending an event, here are some options: · Black Canadian Women in Action, in partnership with the Edmonton Arts Council, are hosting an in-person IWD event at NorQuest College on March 1st. · Making Changes Association are hosting an in-person interactive event at the Calgary CORE shopping centre on March 4, 5 and 6, 2025. · Canadian Women’s Foundation will be hosting a virtual webinar on March 6th · Canadian Centre for Diversity and Learning will be hosting a virtual webinar on March 11th
Written by Amy Prystupa: MSW Practicum Student
Resources
International Women’s Day. (2025). IWD 2025 campaign theme is 'accelerate action'.