Celebrate International Women's Day

SAN ANGELO, TX – Every year March 8th commemorates International Women's Day as the world celebrates the achievements of women in all aspects of life.

For more than 100 years, the day has been observed across the globe and focuses on raising awareness of women's equality and lobbying for gender parity. 

The first unofficial event was held in 1908 and featured 15,000 women marching through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay, and voting rights.

By 1910, at the second International Conference of Working Wome in Copenhagen, attendees from more than 17 countries voted to establish an official day.

But it would take 65 years for the United Nations to celebrate it for the first time. In 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution that proclaimed a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed by the Member States.

Since the beginning of this century, each year has featured a theme that focuses on a specific goal. In 2021, the focus will be to "Choose to Challenge."

"A challenged world is an alert world. Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day. We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women's achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.

Everyone around the world is asked to raise a hand high to show their commitment to challenge and call out inequality. Share your pics on social media with the hashtag #ChooseToChallenge.

"I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." -- Malala Yousafzai