International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, IWD is a national holiday. The first IWD was run in 1911. Next year is IWD Global Centenary 1911-2011 ... more

The first International Women's Day

The first IWD was in 1911. It followed unanimous agreement at an International Conference of Working Women the previous year.
Clara Zetkin proposed that every year in every country there should
be one same day when women's solidarity presses for equality ... more

See International Women's Day in pictures

International Women's Day may be a day of global celebration but there is no room for complacency as women continue to face inequity on many fronts. Let us see how IWD looks around the globe. Share your IWD pictures, tell your stories ... more

Latest news ...

"Raven Mothers" struggle on Swiss corporate ladder
ZURICH, March 8 (Reuters Life!) - Women hold the top three jobs in Swiss politics for the first time, but mothers who have careers are still criticised in a country where women have only been able to vote in national elections since 1971. more

India's ruling party loses support over women's bill
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Two political parties withdrew support for India's ruling Congress party on Monday to protest a controversial bill reserving one third of seats for women, possibly weakening the government's capacity to pass laws. more

Is a woman's place in the home? 1 in 4 say yes-poll
NEW YORK, March 7 (Reuters Life!) - Women head governments, run companies and comprise about half the world's workforce, but a global poll shows that one in four people, most of them young, believe a woman's place is in the home. more

Younger women face "gender fatigue", subtle bias
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters Life!) - Women bosses are no longer unusual in the corporate world, where many top-flight companies see gender and diversity programmes as a "must-have". more

Asia-Pacific women lack economic power, rights - U.N
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Women in the Asia-Pacific region have little economic and political power, impacting economic growth prospects of developing nations, the United Nations said in a report released on Monday. more

China's women struggle for a foothold in power
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chairman Mao famously said women hold up half the sky, but in today's China, the half that matters, the economy, often remains out of their reach. more

Iran bars poet from French Women's Day event
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian authorities prevented a prominent female poet and activist in her 80s from travelling to Paris to attend an event marking International Women's Day on Monday, an opposition website said. more

Bigelow makes Oscar history as war drama triumphs
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood finally entrusted a female director with an Oscar on Sunday. more

Oldest American dies at 114
BOSTON (Reuters) - Mary Josephine Ray, a sports-loving card-player who was the oldest person living in the United States, died on Sunday at the age of 114. more

Fear of ageing drives men's cosmetic sales
LONDON, March 8 (Reuters Life!) - Male cosmetics sales in Britain are growing at twice the rate of the female market, according to a survey, with the need to look good for job interviews and the fear of looking old playing key roles. more

EU to tackle gender pay inequality
[CROSSPOST blog: 25 post: 7908] Original Post Text: By Sangeeta Shastry [caption id="attachment_7910" align="alignleft" width="510" caption="EU Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding"][/caption] Men are still paid more than women in Europe but the European Union is promising to narrow the gap. The executive European Commission set out its plans to address the pay gap between men ... more

Courageous Stephani Victor pays tribute to women’s day
- Barbara Scarpella-Reed is editor of Fiduciary Services at Lipper (a Thomson Reuters company) and a freelance journalist. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters is hosting a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in. Stephani Victor’s life is a portrait of one woman’s ... more

Japan lags behind in gender equality
-Atsuko Kitayama is a a Reuters translator and correspondent based in Toronto. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters is hosting a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in.- Japan has quite a way to go to narrow its gender gap and come closer ... more

Women’s sport sidelined by news media
- Liz King is director of the triathlon website www.TriSpiritEvents.com, and a triathlete with 25 years’ experience, who has raced six Ironman triathlons so far. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters is hosting a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. - Wow, Wellington! You may ... more

Battle over wages: the male-female wage gap
- Alison Steed is the editor of the personal finance website for women and families MyMoneyDiva.com. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. - Women have often been given a bad deal when it comes to ... more

When our biggest challenge is ourselves
-Carol Hall is a partner and new Head of Walkers’ Investment Funds Group in Hong Kong where she specializes in hedge funds and private equity funds and advises on general corporate matters. The opinions expressed are her own.The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog ... more

Women: the “Secret Weapon” against Hunger and Poverty
- Jennifer Parmalee is senior public affairs officer and spokesperson on global issues with the United Nations World Food Programme. The opinions expressed are her own. Reuters is hosting a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in.–- A few years ago, I traveled to ... more

Chipping away at old stereotypes about women firefighters
- Dany Cotton lives in Orpington, Kent. During her 22 years with London Fire Brigade she has risen through the ranks to become a Deputy Assistant Commissioner, and is the highest ranking operational women in the UK fire and rescue service. She was also the first woman firefighter in the ... more

IWD sets stage for perennial debate over feminism
- Sandra Dickson is a feminist working to prevent sexual violence in Aotearoa, New Zealand.  She helped establish the counter-trafficking Poppy Project and wrote “Sex in the City, Mapping Commercial Sex across London,” the first attempt to map the commercial sex industry.  Sandra has also been involved in the Women’s ... more

Women make better investors, if only more of them had a go
- Claer Barrett is associate editor of the Investors Chronicle. The opinions expressed are her own.Reuters will host a “follow-the-sun” live blog on Monday, March 8, 2010, International Women’s Day. Please tune in.– “I’m sorry to tell you that my husband has died, so I want a full refund on his ... more

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What's your story?

Through technology many women are connecting up and sharing their views, opinions and stories. Share your perspectives. Watch and listen to others' opinions. This is what some women are saying about International Women's Day and the activities they're involved in ... more

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