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What is International Women's Day?
International Women's Day (IWD) is observed every March 8. It grew out of early 20th-century labour and suffrage movements, was officially adopted by the UN in 1977, and is a full public holiday in over 25 countries. It commemorates women's achievements and calls for accelerated progress on gender equality.
Why March 8?
IWD's roots are in the early 1900s labour movement:
- February 28, 1909 — First National Woman's Day in the United States, organised by the Socialist Party of America to honour the 1908 garment workers' strike in New York.
- August 1910 — At the International Socialist Women's Conference in Copenhagen, German activist Clara Zetkin proposes an international women's day. The proposal passes unanimously.
- March 19, 1911 — First International Women's Day, observed by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.
- March 8, 1917 (February 23 Old Style) — Women textile workers in Petrograd strike for "bread and peace." The strike helps trigger the February Revolution and the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
- 1922 — Lenin formally declares March 8 International Women's Day in the Soviet Union, and the date becomes the international standard.
Upcoming dates
International Women's Day falls on March 8 every year. The next five occurrences:
| Year | Date | Day of week |
|---|---|---|
| 2027 | March 8, 2027 | Monday |
| 2028 | March 8, 2028 | Wednesday |
| 2029 | March 8, 2029 | Thursday |
| 2030 | March 8, 2030 | Friday |
| 2031 | March 8, 2031 | Saturday |
Countries where IWD is a public holiday
March 8 is a full public holiday in over 25 countries, including:
- Former Soviet states: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.
- Asia: Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal (women only).
- Africa: Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Uganda, Zambia.
- Americas: Cuba.
- China: Half-day holiday for women.
UN observance and annual themes
The UN was first invited to observe IWD as part of International Women's Year (1975). UN General Assembly Resolution 32/142 in December 1977 formally established a UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace, with member states free to choose the date — almost all chose March 8.
Recent UN Women themes:
| Year | UN Women theme |
|---|---|
| 2025 | For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. |
| 2024 | Invest in women: Accelerate progress |
| 2023 | DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality |
| 2022 | Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow |
| 2021 | Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world |
Sources & references
- UN — International Women's Day.
- UN Women — IWD campaign.
- internationalwomensday.com — the separate, privately-run global IWD campaign.
FAQs
Its origins lie in the labour and socialist movements of the early 20th century. The first National Woman's Day was held in the United States on February 28, 1909, organised by the Socialist Party of America. Clara Zetkin proposed an international version at the 1910 International Socialist Women's Conference in Copenhagen, and the first International Women's Day was held on March 19, 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.
March 8 became fixed after a famous women's strike in Petrograd (then Russia) on February 23, 1917 under the Julian calendar — equivalent to March 8 in the Gregorian calendar. That strike helped trigger the February Revolution. In 1922 Lenin formally declared March 8 International Women's Day in the Soviet Union, and the date became the international standard.
The United Nations first observed International Women's Day during International Women's Year in 1975. In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 32/142 inviting all member states to proclaim a UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace. March 8 has been the de facto UN date since.
Yes — it is a public holiday in over 25 countries, including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Mongolia, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal, Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Uganda and Zambia. In China and Nepal it is a half-day holiday for women only. Many other countries observe it as an unofficial observance.
The UN sets its own annual theme (for example For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. for 2025). A separate, privately run campaign at internationalwomensday.com sets a different annual theme such as Accelerate Action (2025) or Inspire Inclusion (2024). Both run on March 8 but they are independent of each other.
Two symbols are common: the colour purple (combined with green and white, the colours of the UK Women's Social and Political Union from 1908) and the mimosa flower (used in Italy since 1946, where IWD is called La Festa della Donna and women traditionally exchange mimosa sprigs).