International Women’s Day (IWD), celebrated on March 8, has served as a global platform for advocating gender equality, recognizing women’s achievements, and addressing challenges they face worldwide. Proposed in 1910 by Clara Zetkin, IWD aimed to promote women’s suffrage, labor rights, and gender equality. Over time, it has become a significant occasion for social activism, policy change, and celebrating progress, but the question remains whether its objectives have been fully achieved.

The key objectives of IWD include advocating for gender equality, recognizing women’s contributions, mobilizing for change, and empowering women across social, economic, and political spheres.

As we prepare to celebrate the day, it would be interesting to consider the level of progress in achieving these objectives.

Gender Equality: While strides have been made in education, where the gender gap in primary education is nearly closed globally, significant disparities persist. The World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report predicts it will take about 135 years to close the gender gap in economic participation, health, education, and political empowerment. In regions like sub-Saharan Africa, girls face barriers like child marriage, preventing equal access to education.

Recognition of Women’s Achievements: Women’s contributions have gained recognition, but they remain underrepresented in leadership roles. For example, women held just 29% of senior management positions globally in 2020. Women also occupy only 26.1% of seats in national parliaments, according to the Global Gender Gap Report.

Mobilization for Change: IWD has inspired movements like #MeToo, advocating for equal rights and safety. However, progress has been slow, and laws addressing domestic violence and sexual harassment are often poorly enforced. According to the World Health Organization, one in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence globally.

Empowerment of Women: Economic empowerment has improved, but challenges remain, including a global gender pay gap of 20%. Women continue to face barriers to career advancement due to biases, caregiving responsibilities, and workplace discrimination.

While International Women’s Day has contributed to progress, gender equality is far from achieved, and continued efforts for policy change and societal transformation are necessary.