International Women’s Day 2024: “Inspire Inclusion”

International Women’s Day (March 8) is a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide. The day also marks a call to action for gender parity.

The 2024 campaign, Inspire Inclusion, asks everyone to challenge stereotypes and support environments where women are respected, valued and heard. And, to recognise the perspectives and contributions of women.

This year International Women’s Day (IWD) wants to promote diversity in leadership and high-level decision making. Across the world many women are running businesses, leading local groups and working hard to better their communities. But women are significantly underrepresented in leadership positions. Did you know that 60% of university graduates are women, but only 10-20% succeed into senior decision-making roles? [1]

International Women’s Day was first recognised by the United Nations (UN) in 1977.[2] For 2024, the UN’s theme is ‘invest in women: accelerate progress’ [2] and focuses on achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030 (UN Sustainable Development Goal #5). [3] But, despite this global endorsement, large economic disparities still persist between genders. Ponder this fact: within a year of completing a PhD in the fields of science, technology, engineering or mathematics, women earn almost 1/3 less than their male counterparts. [4] Women generally face lower pay, higher levels of informal employment, and more unpaid care work than men. [2]

Often the message of IWD is viewed as a celebration of women rather than acknowledging their accomplishments. This year lets actively reflect on, and commit to, the theme of Inspire Inclusion. Applaud women’s achievement and advocate pay equity by:

 endorse the recruitment, retention and development of female talent

 support of women and girls into leadership, decision-making, business and STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine)

 help women and girls make informed decisions about their health

 design building infrastructure to meet the needs of women and girls

 involve women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security roles and decisions

 provide women and girls with access to quality education and training [5]

On March 8th, take a moment to think and thank a woman you know that is making a difference. Today, IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. So let us commit to creating a world where all women and girls are valued. By working together to break down barriers, we can build a more equitable and inclusive society for generations to come. [6] #InspireInclusion
#IWD2024

Written by: Dr Elizabeth Dubois, WHO Research Associate

[1] https://governmentscienceandengineering.blog.gov.uk/2024/01/16/100-stemm-women-and-non-binary-people-in-antarctica/
[2] https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/international-womens-day-2024-economic-inclusion-of-women/#fn-2
[3] https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/announcement/2023/12/international-womens-day-2024-invest-in-women-accelerate-progress
[4] https://www.homewardboundprojects.com.au. 28 Cold Hard Gender Facts: A Homeward Bound Project
[5] https://lordslibrary.parliament.uk/international-womens-day-2024-economic-inclusion-of-women/#ref-5
[6] https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Missions/20202/What-does-it-mean-to-truly-inspire-inclusion