When Is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is back. It’s a day to celebrate the global accomplishments of women, and note the changes that still need to be made in achieving universal equality. Here’s everything you need to know.

When Is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day takes place every year on 8 March. In 2025, that’s Saturday 8 March.

What Is The Theme?

This year’s theme is #Accelerate Action, which IWD explains as follows:

Collectively, we can Accelerate Action for gender equality.

Step forward in solidarity for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2025 on March 8 to help #AccelerateAction.

At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.

Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres.

So, together, let’s Accelerate Action to speed up the rate of progress worldwide.

Why Do We Celebrate International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is celebrated globally to recognise and honour the achievements of women across different fields and sections of society. It is observed by the United Nations and people across the globe, and serves to raise awareness of gender gaps, calling for acceleration towards equality and the upholding of women’s rights.

Today, IWD is most commonly observed in schools to empower young women and girls, and in workplaces to highlight the discrepancies women still face. But the roots of IWD can be traced back to the early 20th century, when it was a majority far-left movement marked by socialist and communist groups.

The first ‘Women’s Day’ was organised by the Socialist Party of America in New York City on 28 February 1909, which inspired the German International Socialist Women’s Conference to propose ‘a special Women’s Day’ in 1910. In 1911, demonstrations occurred across Europe in support of women’s rights (including in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland), but it wasn’t until women gained suffrage in Russia in 1917 that International Women’s Day as we know it came to be. International Women’s Day became a national holiday celebrated on 8 March every year by socialist movements and communist countries, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that the day was adopted by global feminist movements.

The United Nations adopted the day in 1975, which itself was proclaimed the International Women’s Year. In 1977, the UN invited its member states to proclaim 8 March as an official UN holiday for women’s rights, and the day has been commemorated every year since.

Feeling inspired? Learn about five women doing amazing things for the planet here, meet five women founders here, and find eight inspirational quote for IWD here.

Learn more and get involved at internationalwomensday.com