International Women’s Day 2019 – #BalanceforBetter
On March 8, 2019 people all around the world will celebrate International Women’s Day and its 2019 theme: #BalanceforBetter. At it’s core, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a celebration of women– where we have been and what we have achieved socially, economically, politically, and culturally. However, in addition to celebrating how far we have come, IWD also calls us to look at how far we have yet to go on the path to gender parity, and what actions must we all take as individuals to increase the pace of progress?
IWD represents collective action. Collective action means that it is not the responsibility of one person (such as our political leaders), but up to all of us to drive toward a gender-balanced world. Since it began in 1911, IWD has belonged and will continue to belong to everyone– it is not specific to any political affiliation, any group, any country, or organization. IWD is an unbiased call to gain understanding and accelerate toward gender equity for all, everywhere.
According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2018, at the current rate we are progressing toward gender parity worldwide it will take 108 years to reach. 108 years! If you are looking to ground the conversations you will be having and the work you will be doing to accelerate gender parity surrounding IWD in data, the Global Gender Gap Report 2018 is a perfect resource. It breaks down the disparity between genders worldwide based on four subindexes: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival and Political Empowerment. You can explore how your country stacks up against others using their country economy profiles, which show where each country falls in each of the subindexes and the measurements that make them up.
Ready to Celebrate?
There are many ways to celebrate International Women’s Day, but we suggest that as you begin planning, you remember how important it is to use this opportunity to educate others with reliable data on the state of the gender gap. Here are a few resources if you are looking to celebrate this March:
Find an IWD event near you.
Order an IWD event pack for high visibility in your organization– be sure to be inclusive of who you invite to celebrate!
Follow these steps in planning your IWD celebration.
Don’t forget to amplify your passion via social media by posting your #IWD2019 message with your "hands out" balance pose for a strong call-to-action for others to also help forge a #BalanceforBetter.
Let us know if you need help planning your celebration– we would love to be a part of it!