INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK
International Women’s Week is set to celebrate the role of women in society and how far their efforts in fighting for equal opportunities have come. It is slated for the week beginning the first Saturday of March, culminating in International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8. In 2023, the event will take place from March 4-7. Even though International Women’s Day has existed since the 1900s, there was a need to devote an entire week due to the numerous activities slated for the concept. We can celebrate women by considering them an equal half of society and eradicating gender biases that do exist. Many businesses, organizations, and people today address the issue of equality by implementing it in their hiring policies, creating scholarships for women that offer them opportunities to enter male-dominated fields.
HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S WEEK
If the world does not unite to eradicate ancient practices and cultures that have promoted gender bias and lowered the position of women, the imbalance that has always existed will continue. It is common knowledge that globally, women are underrepresented in society and paid less than their male counterparts. They are paid much as they work at the same rate and capacity. It is also true that women are more vulnerable and prone to physical and sexual abuse in both home and work environments. This unfair pair and treatment of women in workplaces need to be addressed.
For the above reasons, International Women’s Week came into place and is crowned on March 8, when we celebrate International Women’s Day. In the 1900s, when the day was first organized, widespread protests across Europe and Russia against bias towards women existed in various aspects of life, like remuneration and voting rights.
Then the United Nations (UN) in the 1970s formalized the global efforts when they passed a resolution to set up a day for creating awareness and teaching the world about women’s rights. The day gained popularity in the 1980s, and it was expanded to cover an entire week involving various activities and culminating in the IWD marked on the 8th.
This week aims to raise and spread awareness concerning five critical areas surrounding women’s lives worldwide: creating and enjoying happy relationships, having self-knowledge, handling sexual and interpersonal violence, creating a positive self-look, and leadership development.
During this week, the UN has been championing a society’s change in attitude towards women and organizing events that address the various aspects of women’s lives, which foster an environment of equality.
Annually, many organizations globally and commercial enterprises organize events, seminars, conferences, and functions to create awareness of equal opportunities in order to shine.
