Women’s day, a celebration that needs upgradation.

International Women's Day (March 8) 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.

International Women's Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific.

Starting from the very history, during World War II, women were the backbone of the nation, taking on the jobs left vacant by men drafted into the army. At the end of the day, every woman would punch out and remind us: Anything a man could do, she could do better. Fast forward decades later and women still show us it’s no longer a man’s world.

Women have left their mark on every industry and career path. There are many professions dominated by women like social service workers, teaching, veterans, and many more. Even in the business world, women are gaining a lot of importance and popularity owing to their hard work and persistent efforts. There is a drastic increase in the numbers of female entrepreneurs observed in the last several years.

There are many women who are at the highest post in various organizations and are counted amongst the top paid women in the country.

Be it army, medicine, architect, sports, social service, music, dance, business, or politics, women are proving themselves everywhere.

Long gone are the days when people used to say things like ‘what more she can achieve if sent away from home’; ‘It’s boys who will make the family proud’; ‘girls are weak, how can they fight?’; ‘after all, who listens to a woman’s voice?’; ‘ the only man can support the world.’

While the whole world is shouting about gender equality, there is a new gender balance being forged in the world. From grassroots awareness raising to highly visible campaigns with impact, gender parity is being forged. Many of us are lucky to be part of organizations where gender equality is both a guiding principle and a practice. However, it’s not all roses and rainbows everywhere. According to the UN, globally women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. And unfortunately, the gap only seems to be increasing.

But international women’s day:2020 is with a mission of accomplishing and implementing gender equality with huge awareness amongst youngsters and women. It becomes easy for professionals to create such an environment, hence let’s hope equality to knock our door steps sooner. 

To all the amazing women out there-“Be a strong woman. So your daughter will have a role model and your son will know what to look for in a woman when he’s a man.”