WOMEN’S DAY

When Old Navy asked me to join the campaign to celebrate International Women’s Day, it got me thinking.  I’ve been celebrating International Women’s day for as long as I can remember. It made sense to do so. I’m a woman, I’m proud of being a woman, I believe in equal pay for equal work, I believe in disrupting gender norms and pushing boundaries, my mother is one of the most badass people I know- so, for all those reasons and more, I have championed International Women’s Day.

However, it only dawned on me recently, that I don’t quite know about the origins of the day and I have never truly educated myself on the formalized goals and objectives of the day. 

So, I did a little research and here goes:

The earliest iteration of a day dedicated to women, can be traced back to February 28, 1909 in New York. The following year at an International Socialist Women’s Conference, delegates (100 women from 17 countries) agreed with the idea of making this an annual occurrence as a strategy to promote equal rights including suffrage for women. The following year on IWD was marked for the first time, by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The most important demands were around the right to vote and to hold public office as well as protests against employment sex discrimination.

The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in the International Women’s Year, 1975. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women’s rights and world peace.

1909 is exactly 110 years ago and I am reminded by all those that came before us that have afforded myself and those like me the opportunity to pick up the baton and keep pushing against gender discrimination, sexism and cultural and professional biases. There’s so much our mothers, grandmothers, great grandmother’s and beyond were told they couldn’t do- and we have pushed beyond all of those. Today, I challenge you to think of the women in your life that inspire you to keep going and keep pushing- above and beyond, shattering every single ceiling. #TheSkyisTheLimit

Make sure to check out Old Navy’s collection of “Yes She Can” T-shirts. I’m seen here rocking my fave. HER-o!!!