【Frauen ohne Unschuld】

Each year,Frauen ohne Unschuld International Women's Day offers the world not just an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women, but also a call to action for issues such as gender parity, reproductive rights, and protection from violence and oppression.

For 2023, International Women's Day is focused on the theme "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality," promoted by the United Nations, which first pulled the global community together under a shared theme in 1996.

As buzz builds, it's worth taking a deeper look: What exactly IS International Women's Day? How can we celebrate in ways that encourage progress?

So let's go back to the basics. Here's everything you need to know.

What is International Women's Day?

International Women's Day is a global day of advocacy designed to celebrate women's accomplishments and to promote women's rights and gender equality.

Though social media has helped signal boost the day in recent years, International Women's Day actually has been around for well over a century. In the United States, the roots of International Women's Day go back to women protesting against working conditions through a garment workers' strike in New York in 1908, according to the UN.

The observance went international in 1910 thanks to activist Clara Zetkin, who proposed before the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen that countries celebrate women and push for their demands with a Women's Day held the same day each year. The suggestion was agreed upon unanimously by the conference of more than 100 women from 17 countries, and slowly but surely, more countries embraced the day.

In 1975, the UN began recognizing International Women's Day as well, helping expand the reach and impact of the effort. Since then, International Women's Day has been used to speak out on behalf of women and girls all over the globe.

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When is International Women's Day?

International Women's Day is celebrated annually on March 8. The date ties back to the Russian Revolution of 1917, during which women demonstrated and demanded "Bread and Peace" in the face of food shortages and war.

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Where is it observed?

You can celebrate International Women's Day, well, just about everywhere. (Hence the "international" part of its title.) Though International Women's Day is not an official holiday in all countries — including the United States, despite a 1994 effort by Rep. Maxine Waters — the day is observed around the world.

The International Women's Day website, an initiative promoted by private partners and supporters, offers a database of events — including community gatherings, conferences, festivals, online celebrations, and more — that can be searched by location, with virtual events organized together for those who wish to join the movement remotely.

How can you celebrate?

The ways to honor International Women's Day are endless, and people all over the globe take a variety of different approaches to observe the day.

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Since its creation, International Women's Day has been used as a rallying cry for women's demonstrations throughout big moments in history, from a 1914 march in London in support of women's suffrage, to ongoing protests and demands for action across the world. Supporters also can push for change by donating to, volunteering for, or promoting a philanthropic cause that advances women's rights.

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For those looking for other ways to spread awareness, the International Women's Day website offers resources to help supporters promote women's equality using social media cards, email signatures, resources for children, and other items aligned with the site's 2023 campaign theme of #EmbraceEquity.

Who gets involved?

International Women's Day organizers are very clear: The day is for everyone.

Quoting feminist organizer Gloria Steinem, the International Women's Day website emphasizes, "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist, nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."

So while International Women's Day celebrates women, everyone is invited to support the cause. For instance, in years past, a group of Chinese men walked in women's shoes for a day, literally wearing women's heels and dresses for a trek up a mountain as a lesson in empathy, and an all-boys high school created a viral video about why feminism is important.

Ultimately, the goal for International Women's Day is gender equality. And that's something that everyone can work to promote all year, with inspiration from a global day of awareness.

UPDATE: Mar. 7, 2023, 3:20 p.m. EST This article was published in 2018 and has been updated for International Women's Day 2023. Additional reporting by Lauren T. Taniguchi.