International Women’S Day

Small presentation explaining the reasons for the celebration of this day and including some of the fields in which genre differences persist.

1. International Women’s Day
8 March

2. History
•International Women’s Day came about
due to several historical occurrences. It is
the symbolic culmination of both the long
public struggle for women’s rights and the
more private struggle waged everyday by
women that have made the celebration of
this day possible.

3. History
•Over the years, International
Women's Day (IWD) has taken
to the streets, sparked off a
revolution, met cosily at
luncheons and concerts,
rubbed shoulders with
Premiers, Prime Ministers and
Mayors, demonstrated at the
doors of newspapers and
welfare institutions, occupied
empty houses intent on
gaining shelter for homeless
women and has ushered in
reform legislation.

4. History
•On 8 March 1857, women working in clothing
and textile factories (called 'garment workers') in
New York City, in the United States, staged a
protest. They were fighting against inhumane
working conditions and low wages. The police
attacked the protestors and dispersed them.
Two years later, again in March, these women
formed their first labour union to try and protect
themselves and gain some basic rights in the
workplace.

5. History
On 25 March 1911, the
tragic Triangle Fire in New York City took
place. Over 140 workers, mostly young
Italian and Jewish immigrant girls working
at the Triangle Shirtwaist Company, lost
their lives because of the lack of safety
measures. The Women's Trade Union
League and the International Ladies'
Garment Workers Union led many of the
protests against this avoidable tragedy,
including the silent funeral march which
brought together a crowd of over 100,000
people. The Triangle Fire had a significant
impact on labour legislation and the
horrible working conditions leading up to
the disaster were invoked during
subsequent observances of International
Women's Day

6. History
•The first IWD was held on March 19, 1911 in
Germany, Austria, Denmark and some other
European countries. This date was chosen by
German women because, on that date in 1848,
the Prussian king, faced with an armed uprising,
had promised many reforms, including an
unfulfilled one of votes for women. A million
leaflets calling for action on the right to vote
were distributed throughout Germany before
IWD in 1911.

7. IWD Card distributed by Women's International Democratic Federation in 1959

8. Union of Australian Women members in Sydney on a "walk for peace" to Wynyard Park - IWD
1963

11. The right to equality

12. Inequality
•Inequality between men and women results in lost
opportunities and prevents mutual gain. In general,
discrimination:
–Diverts resources from women's activities, sometimes in favour
of less productive investment in men;
–Rewards men, but also some women, blinding them to
productive alternatives;
–Obstructs social as well as economic participation and closes
off possible partnerships;
–Reduces women's effectiveness by failing to support them in
meeting their responsibilities, challenges and burdens.

13. Gender Equality Index
•Autonomy of the body:
–Legal protection against and incidence of
gender-based violence
–Control over sexuality
–Control over reproduction

14. Gender Equality Index
•Autonomy within the family and
household:
–Freedom to marry and divorce
–Right to custody of children in case of divorce
–Decision-making power and access to assets
within the household

15. Gender Equality Index
•Political power:
–Decision-making in supra-household levels
(municipalities, unions, government,
parliament)
–Proportion of women in high managerial
positions

16. Gender Equality Index
•Social resources:
–Access to health
–Access to education

17. Gender Equality Index
•Material resources:
–Access to land
–Access to houses
–Access to credit

18. Gender Equality Index
•Employment and income:
–Distribution of paid and unpaid labour
–Wage differentials for men and women
–Division of formal and informal labour by
gender

19. Gender Equality Index
•Time:
–Relative access to leisure and sleep

20. Gender Equality Index
•Gender identity:
–Rigidity of sexual division of labour

21. Gender Violence
Gender-based violence — in various forms
including rape, domestic violence, "honour“
killings and trafficking in women — exacts a
heavy toll on mental and physical health.
Increasingly, gender-based violence is
recognized as a major public health concern
and a serious violation of basic human
rights.

22. Gender violence throughout
women’s life
Phase Type of Violence
Prenatal Sex-selective abortions, battering during pregnancy,
coerced pregnancy (rape during war)
Infancy Female infanticide, emotional and physical abuse,
differential access to food and medical care
Childhood Genital mutilation; incest and sexual abuse; differential
access to food, medical care, and education; child prostitution
AdolescenceDating and courtship violence, economically coerced
sex, sexual abuse in the workplace, rape, sexual harassment,
forced prostitution
ReproductiveAbuse of women by intimate partners, marital rape,
dowry abuse and murders, partner homicide, psychological abuse,
sexual abuse in the workplace, sexual harassment, rape, abuse of
women with disabilities
Old Age Abuse of widows, elder abuse (which affects mostly
women)