Sunday, March 8 was International Women’s Day, a day to appreciate and celebrate women’s accomplishments while still raising awareness about gender equality. This year’s theme was “Make It Happen.”
There were many companies that supported International Women’s Day, including MetLife, BP and Enterprise. A statement from MetLife read: “MetLife is proud to be an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. We are committed to attracting, retaining and maximizing the performance of a diverse and inclusive workforce.”
Many celebrities used social media last Sunday to stand up for the rights of women. Matthew Gray Gubler of “Criminal Minds” tweeted, “What’s with all of these ‘specific’ days? Isn’t every day women’s appreciation day?”
Reese Witherspoon tweeted an old picture of women at a rally with a sign: “WOMEN OF THE WORLD UNITE!” She captioned this tweet with, “Love this photo! Happy International Women’s Day! #IWD2015.” She also directed followers to the website not-there.org to learn more about International Women’s Day.
International Women’s Day 2015 showed that although women are getting closer to gender equality, they are still not there yet. In a video on not-there.org, female actors explain how women may think are finally equal, but are still not.
Women in the U.S. only hold five percent of the of 14,500 CEO positions. This year’s International Women’s Day made many people aware of the fact that women are still not seen or treated as equal; not just in other countries, but in the U.S. as well.
International Women’s Day has been celebrated since the early 1900s. In 1910, International Women’s Day was recognized for the first time, on March 19, in Austria, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland.
Since the 2000s, 27 countries now celebrate International Women’s Day as an official holiday.
The older generation of feminists know there is still a lot of work to be done. International Women’s Day is a great time to raise awareness of the problems still at hand, while also celebrating women’s accomplishments.