Forging a more inclusive world for women
International Women’s Day (IWD) on Friday is a timely reminder of the powerful role women play in our lives ... as mothers, grandmothers, wives, daughters, sisters and friends.
The 2024 theme is Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress Inspire Inclusion.
Women play a crucial role in families, serving as caregivers, nurturers, and pillars of strength. They provide love, guidance, and stability, shaping the values of their children. Women often have to juggle multiple roles, balancing work, household responsibilities, and caregiving.
When women themselves are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment, and when we inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion, we “forge a better world”.
The first International Women’s Day was held in March 1911. The event, held on March 8 each year, is not specific to one country, group or organisation. It is a day of collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to supporting women’s equality.
While equal rights for women have come a long way over the past 100 years, far more work is needed. For example, despite domestic violence laws, public awareness and access to legal protections, women in Australia are still being killed by their partners or former partners at the rate of one a week.
That is an outrageous and unacceptable statistic.
Also, slave labour and trafficking of women for prostitution is still prevalent in some parts of the world while the rights of women in countries like Iran and Afghanistan are severely curtailed.
World-renowned feminist, journalist and activist, Gloria Steinem, reportedly once said, “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.”
Ongoing goals of IWD include:
- forging women’s economic empowerment
- recruiting, retaining and developing female talent
- supporting women and girls into leadership, decision-making
- designing and building infrastructure meeting the needs of women and girls
- helping women and girls make informed decisions about their health
- providing women and girls with access to quality education and training
- elevating women and girl’s participation and achievement in sport
For details about events and resources go to: https://iwda.org.au/take-action/international-womens-day/
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