The
first Women's Day took place on the last Sunday in February,
1908. Initiated by socialist women in the United States,
the occasion was inspired by a number of issues -- the
right to vote, equal wages, and better working conditions
for female employees among them. A year later, the second
International Conference of Socialist Women approved an
International Women's Day, which was held for the first
time in 1911.
On March 8 (February 23 on the
Gregorian calendar), 1917, thousands of Russian women
observed this holiday by protesting food shortages, high
prices, the war, and the general suffering they had endured
under the Czarist regime. (The Czar was forced to abdicate
four days later as a result of that and other strikes.)
In 1921, March 8 became the official date for International
Women's Day.
No longer an exclusively socialist
holiday, International Women's Day is now a time to rally
support for women's rights around the world, commemorate
the progress we've made, and honor the efforts of individual
women who have helped bring about greater equality for
all.
