International Woman’s Day is tomorrow. With each passing year the roaring voices of women are heard louder and clearer. You may see marches, rallies, protests, celebrations and of course the iconic red bandanas, originally worn by Rosie the Riveter all around your town. So, before you head out to join the events taking place this week, brush up on what the day is about, its history, events and the iconic Rosie.
What is International Woman’s Day (IWD)?
The day is a call to action for woman’s rights and equality. It is also a celebration of women’s achievements. This day starts a momentum for the year and its inertia is felt everywhere, from grassroots to global activism. Each year IWD has a new theme and this year’s theme is “Balance for Better” which means a gender balance in our overall environment from politics, economies to societal norms and more. IWD is an official holiday in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Zambia, Cuba and hundreds of other countries. Let’s hope we can join these countries by making IWD a holiday here in the United States. Those unable to take the day off to celebrate can show solidarity by wearing purple or the usual red this year.
History
Woman’s day was first observed in 1909 when thousands of women hit the streets of New York demanding just pay and voting rights. In 1917 Russian women marched to the capital on the same issues. This march grew to 100,000 people going on strike and taking to the streets. The uproar of these women actually propelled the overthrowing of the tsar. The day gained great popularity in Easter Europe and the Soviet Union and soon became an international event.
The United Nations joined the event in 1977 to honor women’s rights. In 2017 women in the United States celebrated by taking the day off in protest of a day without women. Many schools were closed since women makeup 75% of school teachers. More than a hundred countries around the world have declared IWD an official holiday.
Events
Peaceful protests, marches, rallies and celebrations are all a part of IWD. To commemorate the day people all over the world voice their issues and joy with speeches, songs, signs and of course hashtags to highlight important movements such as the “Me Too” movement which brought our attention to sexual harassment and sexual assault. The movement started in 2017 and is still at the forefront of our minds and will certainly be around at IWD events this year.
There are IWD events almost everywhere this week. To find an event near you, visit: www.internationalwomensday.com/EventList
Iconic Rosie the Riveter
This IWD, red bandanas will be sitting atop many women’s heads just like the popular illustration of Rosie the riveter by Norman Rockwell. The illustration of strong woman Rosie with hair tied and sleeves rolled back ready for work was actually part of a propaganda campaign by the United States government with the slogan “we can do it!” Its purpose was to drive women out of their homes and “female jobs” to the defense industry to fill the gaps left by men who went to war during World War II. Women entered the workplace into many jobs previously unavailable to them. The aircraft industry hired the most women and women who had previously acquired their pilot’s license became the first women in US history to then fly for the military.
Many suggest the model for the famous icon was Naomi Parker Fraley who was photographed as she worked at a Naval station on California. Parker passed away in 2018 but her inspiration through iconic Rosie the Riveter lives on and has been adopted by women as a symbol of female empowerment.
Let IWD this year be a reminder of the inequality that is still a part of our society and raise our voices for women’s issues in any way we can. Also, remember to honor the famous, infamous, ordinarily extraordinary women in your lives who made way for what we call, womanhood.