What's the timeline of International Women's Day?

International Women's Day (IWD) has a long and powerful history of collective action.

For over a century, IWD has provided an important opportunity for groups worldwide advocating for gender equality.

Today, IWD is a movement. IWD is the result of its many parts.

Let's look at how IWD came to be, the various occurrences that catapulted IWD to what it is today, and why IWD remains a collective movement belonging to all groups, everywhere.

As Gloria Steinem, world-renowned feminist, journalist and activist reportedly once explained "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."

So how did IWD start?
 

International Women's Day (IWD) Timeline 

Many first wave feminist groups, such as the suffragettes and suffragists, played a foundational role in shaping IWD by championing women's rights, particularly voting rights, and laying the groundwork for broader feminist movements. Additionally, many feminists educated about gender inequality and rallied support for a better world for women, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, Betty Friedan, and Gloria Steinem. There are many groups and events that have actively forged IWD to become what it is today, which is a vibrant worldwide movement where everyone is welcome and included to help advance gender quality.

Many influences have contributed to the rise, popularity, and mainstreaming of IWD. 

So here we go ...

1776 - Abigail Smith Adams, first lady to President John Adams writes her 'Remember the Ladies' letter on March 31 urging that Continental Congress consider women's rights and protections when drafting new laws for the newly independent nation of America which, on July 4, adopted the Declaration of Independence.

1792 - English author, Mary Wollstonecraft, advocates for educational and social equality for women in her book 'A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.'

1857 - First organized strike by women workers occurs in New York City on March 8 with a protest march by women textile workers calling for fair working conditions with a shorter work day and decent wages, alongside equal rights.

1903 - Independent women's movement, Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), is founded by Emmeline Pankhurst in Manchester, England.

1907 - First edition of Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) newspaper 'Votes for Women' is launched.

1908 - Women workers in needle trades march through New York City's Lower East Side on March 8, protesting child labor and sweatshop working conditions, and demanding women's suffrage.

1909 - Theresa Malkiel, head of Socialist Party of America's Woman's National Committee, conceives a 'National Woman's Day,' later designated by the party.

1910 - Clara Zetkin, leader of Women's Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, tables the idea of an International Women's Day at the Second International Socialist Women's Conference, which receives unanimous support from over one hundred women representing 17 countries.

1911 - IWD is marked for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, on March 19, with more than one million women and men attending rallies.

1911 - Sixth Conference of International Woman Suffrage Alliance is held in Stockholm, Sweden.

1911 - UK Suffragette, Estelle Sylvia Pankhurst, publishes "The Suffragette: The History Of The Women's Militant Suffrage Movement, 1905-1910."

1913 - First observance of IWD in Russia, with socialist women organizing protests and rallies demanding better working conditions, equal rights, and the right to vote.

1914 - Women's suffrage march is held in London, England from Bow to Trafalgar Square, with suffragette Sylvia Pankhurst arrested in front of Charing Cross station on her way to address the march.

1917 - Women in Russia strike for 'bread and peace,' protesting food shortages, poor living conditions, and World War I.

1922 - Vladimir Lenin declares March 8 International Working Women’s Day, honoring women's role in 1917 Russian Revolution.

1922 - Tajikistan marks IWD as an official holiday.

1922 - Turkmenistan marks IWD as an official holiday.

1922 - Uzbekistan marks IWD as an official holiday.

1922 - First celebration of IWD in China by the Chinese women’s movement.

1928 - First IWD rally is held in Australia in Sydney, organized by Militant Women's Group of the Communist Party.

1930 - President Hồ Chí Minh announces October 20 as 'Vietnamese Women's Day.'

1949 - China declares IWD an official holiday.

1956 - Tunisia proclaims a 'National Women's Day' for August 13.

1957 - Mongolia marks IWD as an official holiday. 

1961 - Angola marks IWD as an official holiday.

1965 - Ukraine marks IWD as an official holiday.

1966 - Cuba marks IWD as an official holiday.

1960-70's - IWD is supported by second-wave feminists.

1973 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims week of March 8 'National Women's History Week.'

1975 - Vietnam marks IWD as an official holiday.

1975 - Mozambique marks IWD as an official holiday.

1975 - United Nations marks IWD, setting 1975 as International Women's Year.

1977 - United Nations invites its Member States to mark "any day of the year" as a "Day for Women's Rights and International Peace," in accordance with historical and national traditions.

1978 - U.S. institutes Women's History Week with women's history to be included in educational curricula. 

1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims week of March 8 'National Women's History Week.

1980's - Algeria marks IWD as an official holiday.

1980's - Laos marks IWD as an official holiday.

1987 - National Women's History Project in the U.S. successfully petitions Congress for all of March as a celebration of women's contributions. Congress passes Pub. L. 100-9 designating March 1987 as Women's History Month.

1988 - U.S. presidents issue annual proclamations designating March as Women's History Month, and announcing a different U.S. theme each year.

1988 - Philippines proclaims March 8 as 'National Women’s Day,' a 'Women’s Week,' and a 'Women's Role in History Month.'

1991 - Kyrgyzstan marks IWD as an official holiday.

1991 - Uganda marks IWD as an official holiday.

1994 - Cambodia marks IWD as an official holiday.

1994 - South Africa proclaims August 9 'National Women's Day' and marks the day in 1995.

1995 - Namibia's first President, Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma, proclaims March 10 'Women's Day.'

1995 - Malawi's first President, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda, declares August 8 'Malawi Women’s Day.'

1996 - Zambia marks IWD as an official holiday.

1996 - United Nations launches an IWD theme 'Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future.'

1998 - Kazakhstan marks IWD as an official holiday.

2001 - IWD website launches as a free, not-for-profit, user-generated resource hub to 'Support the Supporters' and grow mainstream awareness of IWD.

2003 - IWD march in Mexico City on March 8 becomes one of the largest IWD events globally, with hundreds of thousands of participants. March 9 is #UNDÍASINNOSOTRAS, 'A Day Without Us,' where women 'disappear' by not going to work, school, public spaces, etc to highlight women's importance and work in Mexican society.

2005 - Google launches its first IWD Google Doodle.

2007 - Large-scale women's groups start to emerge, like Women Deliver.

2009 - Google launches its second IWD Google Doodle, then continues this tradition annually.

2010 - Armenia marks IWD as an official holiday.

2010 - Botswana marks IWD as an official holiday.

2010 - Nepal marks IWD as an official holiday.

2010 - United Nations launches gender equality body, UN Women.

2013 - Beyoncé first marks IWD sharing a powerful message on Instagram.

2014 - Beyoncé posts IWD video across social media, and continues annual IWD messages of inspiration receiving millions of likes

2017 - Madonna marks IWD with 12-minute film, 'Her-Story,' dedicated to women who fight for freedom.

2018 - Lady Gaga posts IWD message on social media, and continues with ongoing posts viewed by millions.

2019 - Canada marks 'Innovate For Change' as an IWD national theme.

2019 - Largest international IWD concert, 'Global Citizen Festival: Power of Women,' is held in New York City with performances from Cardi B, Pharrell Williams, Michelle Obama, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Kerry Washington, and more.

2021 - Canada marks 'Feminist Recovery: Building Back Better' as an IWD national theme.

2022 - Canada marks 'Women Inspiring Women' as an IWD national theme.

2025 and beyond - IWD continues to see exponential globalized growth as a prolific, mainstream movement participated in by millions worldwide. Celebrities, world leaders, major brands, governments, and many diverse groups collectively support IWD in their vastly different and highly varied ways. Such diverse mainstream activity demonstrates the adaptability of IWD in addressing global, regional, and organizational priorities each year. 

All IWD activity is valid, that's what makes IWD so incredibly exciting and impactful. IWD is truly inclusive, not exclusive

Make IWD your day

So make IWD your day, and mark it in any way you believe can help forge gender equality.

IWD is a day of collective abundance. IWD's history is too deep, and too long, to be forgotten, or met with apathy.

We still, and always will, need an IWD. We have lots of work to do!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Galatians 6:9

The information and advice provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate.