International Women’s Day takes place on the 8th March and is specially dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements, as well as promoting equality and preventing gender bias. Each year has a theme, so the theme for this year is #BalanceForBetter. The theme aims to make the world more balanced in terms of gender, so while there is still the focus on women’s rights, rather than singling out women for this campaign, it aims to be inclusive of everyone of any gender.
However, there has been a backlash against the celebration of this day for about as long as it has been running. People suggest that dedicating a day just for women’s achievements creates a bigger gender divide, while others say the day started out with the right intentions but seems to now be celebrating women simply because they are women.
The #BalanceForBetter theme seems to resolve some of the issues people have with International Women’s Day, as it is designed to run all year round, not just on a single day and strives to get anyone and everyone involved in promoting equality, not just women as the name suggests. It raises questions as to whether the name of this day, International Women’s Day, is still appropriate now. If the day is for gender equality, then is it necessary to call out a single gender?
In my opinion, I think the name International Women’s Day should remain as it is, as it has become a symbol in its own right, after running for over 30 years. When people hear the name or read it, they know what the day is for and that it strives for equality. I think it began as a method of promoting women’s rights and making women equal to men within society, hence International Women’s Day. Though I believe that the theme of this year’s campaign really sums up what the day is actually about in today’s society, as women have more rights and are more equal than they were 30 years ago, the day is now about balance and actual equality for all genders.
International Women’s Day isn’t an exclusive club, it’s open to everyone who wants equality. So why not celebrate International Women’s Day with a #BalanceForBetter pose as I did and promote equality between genders to strive for a gender-balanced world.
