International Women’s Day: The Hype and the History
Written by Alice Petch
Art by May Thet Naing
No doubt you have been flooded with International Women’s Day content over the last twenty-four hours. Your insta feed is probably overflowing with collages of inspiring female friends and family – maybe you’re even tagged in one or two. Perhaps you attended a corporate lunch celebrating women in your workplace, or a high tea to celebrate the fabulous women in your life. There are events everywhere, and a whole lot of girl power filling our screens and conversations, and this is wonderful. However, the historical roots of International Women’s Day point to another focus of this calendar event – advocacy and change.
On 28 February 1909, America celebrated its first National Women’s Day, introduced by the Socialist Party. It became an international movement under the wings of German Socialist Clara Zetkin, who attended the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910 and there campaigned for a day to internationally advocate for female suffrage.
Following her campaigning, the first International Women’s Day was held in March of 1911, with widespread protests all over Europe calling for female rights. Over a million women participated. The Militant Women’s Movement brought International Women’s Day to Australia in 1928. Annual marches kicked off in 1931 in Sydney and Melbourne and are still held to this day. It wasn’t until 1975 that the United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day. International Women’s Day is deeply rooted in labour movements and working-class activism. In some countries, it is even tradition for men to buy women flowers on International Women’s Day, the celebration being largely commercial and far distanced from its socialist roots. The focus of the day now, however, seems to be on social media posts and fancy corporate lunches. Is it possible we’re missing the point?
In the last week I have received emails from several clothing brands advertising ‘International Women’s Day Sales.’ As much as I am all for buying a new dress and feeling fantastic as you turn up to a champagne brunch, you can do this any day. In fact, it is a very limited portion of the female community that is able to engage in such celebrations. Perhaps on March 8th, especially given its working-class origins, we should be digging a little deeper.
Historically the International Women’s Day movement has also extended far beyond March 8th; in the United Kingdom in December 1946 the Chairman of the International Women’s Day Committee, Leah Manning, convened a conference attended by over 400 women representing women more widely in businesses and organisations, in order to kickstart a campaign seeking equal pay for women. It’s actions like Manning’s which remind us that International Women’s Day is about moving forwards, not only celebrating where we are now.
It is not the case that International Women’s Day is a totally depoliticised event now. The International Women’s Day slogan this year is “Each for Equal”, and the official UN website states that “International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women - while also marking a call to action for accelerating gender equality”.
Women in history have done so much for us, and of course we should celebrate their achievements. We should also take the time to celebrate the women in our lives – our friends, our mothers, our mentors – and if that involves high teas, corporate lunches and new dresses, that’s fine. The activist side of International Women’s Day is, however, getting lost.
We still have a lot to work towards. Half of women experience sexual harassment, one in three women over the age of 15 have experienced physical or sexual violence, and one in five women have experienced violence at the hands of a partner. In Australia, women constitute 70% of unpaid primary carers for children, and 58% of primary unpaid carers for people who are elderly or have a disability. It remains true that the average full-time wage of a woman is about 14% less than that of a man. This has shifted very little in the last two decades, being at 14.9% in 2004 and reaching a high of 18.5% in 2014.
We are, it seems, at a standstill, and too many people are under the misapprehension that the rights of women are something that now only needs to be celebrated, rather than advocated for. It’s true that we have a lot to celebrate, but we also have a long way to go.
We only have the rights we have now because women in the past demanded them, and the battle is not yet over.