International Women's Day: March 8 Repost

For over 100 years International Women’s Day has been celebrated annually on March 8 to honor women’s achievements and inspire women ; it is a day to reflect on the progress the world has made in advancing women’s rights, the work of the suffragettes, and to remind us what work still remains to be done to promote economic, social and political equality.  Many parts of the world hold events and conferences on this day.

It was in 1908 that 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding  improvements in poor working conditions, shorter hours, better pay and voting rights resulting in the formation of the first American Women's union.  Then, in 1909 this strike was commemorated by the socialist party of America, and, finally, in 1910 at the socialist meeting in Copenhagen, it was voted that there should be a day to mark and support universal suffrage for women. Hence, in 1911 International Women’s Day was marked for the first time with groups of women and men demanding not only the right for women to vote but also women’s rights to work and to undertake vocational training.

On March 8, we also  light a candle and  honor those women who lost their lives throughout the years such as the 140 women garment workers who died in the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City where the lack of health and safety measures and locked factory exits forced the young immigrant women to jump from factory windows to their deaths to escape the flames.