Happy International Women’s Day! On this day, thousand of events are held around the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements.
This year, women in the U.S. won the right to serve on the front lines in combat. President Obama inched closer to pushing equal pay for men and women.
While many achievements have been made, there are still many more sad truths that women face around the world. Such as genital mutilation, child brides, human trafficking and many more. And then there were anti-women’s health politicians in Congress who made a series of gaffes about women’s bodies and rape.
Advocates from around the world gather at UN headquarters for the annual Commission on the Status of Women meeting. Millions recognize the advancements made in human rights and the struggles and challenges women continue to face in politics, education, employment and other areas of life.
International Women’s Day can be traced back to March 8, 1857, when garment workers in New York City protested against inhumane working conditions and low wages. That’s according to the United Nations. In that incident, police attacked the protestors and dispersed them, but the movement let the creation of the first women’s labor union.
On March 8, 1908, 15,000 women marched in New York City for shorter work house, better pay, voting rights and an end to child labor. The slogan “Bread and Roses” was created. Bread symbolized economic security and roses for better living standards.
Today, there’s a Google Doodle and a White House proclamation.
On this day a new slogan is in circulation, “a modern progressive world needs equality.”
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