Hands embracing equity

Internationa Women’s Day (IWD) began in 1909 when it was declared by the Socialist Party of America as National Women’s Day.  At a 1911 International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Clara Zetkin , of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany,  proposed that there should be a celebration on the same day every year in every country—a Woman’s Day. In 1912, International Women’s Day was celebrated for the first time. Men and women in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland marched in support of women’s right to work, vote, and hold public office. Over the years, IWD has gradually been recognized across the globe. See History of International Women’s Day.

Why is IWD celebrated on March 8?  According the United States Census Bureau, it marks two days: the day on March 8, 1857 when female textile workers in New York City protested against unfair working conditions and in support of equal rights and another day—March 8, 1908, when women workers in the needle trades protested child labor and sweatshop working conditions.

There is another possible reason that March 8 was established as the celebration date: on  March 8, 1917, in Petrograd (February 23, 1917, on the Julian calendar)  women textile workers demonstrated, demanding “Bread and Peace,” an end to World War I, to food shortages, and to czarism.  (Note: Russia now uses the same calendar that the US uses, the Gregorian calendar.)

In 2001, the IWD website  (internationalwomensday.com) was developed with the purpose of re-energizing the day across the globe. Corporations and organizations in every country are always invited to participate.

IWD establishes a different theme each year. This year the theme is “Embrace Equity.”

Equity is a broad term and everyone is encouraged to interpret it and commemorate it in a way that fits. The US Postal Services is expected to issue a stamp in March to celebrate Women’s History Month, which, includes IWD.  John Deere Corporation has chosen to focus on women forging change via technology and sustainability in communities, workplaces and beyond. The United Nations is stressing Innovation and technology. In the UK, an engineering company called WSP stresses its inclusive and diverse culture that embraces equity. And across the globe, an array of organizations have pledged to support IWD in a variety of ways. See International Women’s Day Partners.

AAUW has embraced equity and diversity for several decades. National AAUW’s Diversity Statement notes that “there shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of age, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, geographical location, national origin, race, religious beliefs, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.” In 2022, AAUW asked branches to identify someone to be the Diversity Chair–a person who is passionate about diversity and inclusion. Last fall, President Kathy Wagenknecht appointed  Julie Haupt as Diversity Chair for the Bennington Branch.  Julie has been the Social Justice Chair for the United Unitarian Fellowship in Bennington and has collaborated with other members of the fellowship on many equity projects over the years.  Julie will keep us informed of diversity, equity, and inclusion issues (DEI) and will help with DEI programming.