International Women's Day 2026

Beginnings

International Women’s Day, celebrated every year on March 8th, began with socialist worker’s rights movements in Europe and North America in the early twentieth century.

The earliest Women’s Day event we know of was celebrated in New York City on February 28, 1909, and was organized by the Socialist Party of America after being suggested by activist Theresa Malkiel.

In August of the following year, at the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, German delegates Clara Zetkin, Käte Duncker, and Paula Thiede proposed the creation of an annual Women’s Day to promote equal rights. 100 delegates representing 17 countries agreed, although no specific date was set.

On March 19th, 1911, over a million people in Austria-Hungary, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland marked the first International Women’s Day, protesting employment sex discrimination and demanding the right to vote and to hold public office.

A few years later, on March 8th, 1917, women textile workers in Petrograd, Russia, walked off their jobs despite orders not to. This led to a mass strike and the beginning of the Russian Revolution. A week later, the Tsar abdicated and the interim government granted Russian women the right to vote. To commemorate this extraordinary action, Russians began celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8th.

In the following decades, it remained a day mostly celebrated by communist countries until second-wave feminists of the 1960’s renewed the holiday in Europe and in the United States, rallying around the common causes of equal pay and economic opportunity, legal rights, reproductive rights, subsidized childcare, and an end to violence against women. The United Nations began celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975, which was also declared International Women’s Year.

Where are we today?

Since its beginnings in the early 1900’s, we’ve seen a lot of progress in women’s rights: in many countries, women now have the right to vote, to marry or divorce as they please, to have better opportunities for work, and enjoy greater reproductive freedom. That being said, none of us are free until ALL of us are free, and we still have a long way to go. There are still so many places in the world today where women’s rights are virtually non-existent.

the stats

• Globally, women early 23% less than men. That number is even higher for Black, Indigenous, and other women of colour.

• In Canada, women are more likely than men to live in substandard or unaffordable housing.

• Women also do more unpaid care work, spending on average 4 hours per week more caring for adults, and 8 hours a week more caring for children.

  (Source: Women and Gender Equality Canada)

All over the world, almost 1 in 3 women have experienced physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lives, often at the hand of a current or former partner.

A 2025 report by the UN Secretary-General on Women, Peace and Security warns that 676 million women now live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict, the highest level since the 1990s. This means an increase in casualties amoung women and children, and a staggering 87% increase in conflict-related sexual violence over a two-year period.

(Source: UN Women)

What can you do?

Reading stats like these can be overwhelming and discouraging. Here are four things you can do in your community to help move us closer to a world free of violence and inequality.

• educate yourself

  Learn about the issues affecting girls, women, and gender-diverse people. Learn about what inequality and gender-based violence look like  and call them out when you see them. Practice bystander intervention. Learn how to support a friend.

• get political

  Pay attention to what your governments are up to. Vote. Learn the contact information for your representatives and let them know how you feel about the issues that affect women and gender diverse people.

• uplift those who are doing the work

  Find the people and organizations in your community and beyond who are already doing anti-violence and equality work. Volunteer your time, donate money if you’re able, share their social media posts and answer their calls to action.

• celebrate the achievements of women and gender-diverse people

  Commemorative days like International Women’s Day are important to bring renewed attention to the struggle for women’s equality, AND women and gender-diverse people are on the front lines of the fight for justice and equality. Give them their flowers every day of the year!