International Women's Day 2020

“An equal world is an enabled world”. That’s the message for International Women’s Day 2020 but what is it all about? One day, every year the world comes together to celebrate women’s achievements as well as raising awareness surrounding gender inequality. During each International Women’s Day different activists choose to advocate particular causes. Whether it’s period poverty, the health gap, the gender pay gap, women in education or women in sport, International Women's Day is the day to talk about it. We here at BeYou love having those much-needed conversations about women’s issues and that’s why we want to talk about the importance of International Women’s Day.

The History of International Women’s Day

Historically, International Women's Day is all about recognising women’s rights as human rights. The commemorative day is held on 8th March every single year and has been formally celebrated by the UN since 1917. Many activists take the day to celebrate the achievements, discoveries and progress that women have made throughout history. While other advocates use the day to speak about issues they’re passionate about and protest against what still needs to be changed. Every single International Women’s Day has a different theme which highlights a particular issue the UN wants to focus on for the rest of the year.

International Women’s Day 2020

The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Each for Equal”. The aim of this year’s campaign is to celebrate the ‘collective individualism’ of women. We know it sounds very highbrow but hear us out. What this means, is celebrating the individuality of women and what makes them amazing. Sound familiar? Celebrating Individuality Together™ goes into everything we do at BeYou. We create our products with the individual needs of women in mind to empower them to thrive in their day to day lives. That’s why we feel so strongly about celebrating International Women’s Day and how important it is. ‘But why do we need International Women’s Day?’ 2.7 billion women can’t access the same jobs as their male peers because of legal restrictions and less than 25% of MPs are women which just demonstrates the progress we still have to make. International Women’s Day is the perfect opportunity to shout about what still needs to be done for the dream of gender equality to come down.

‘How can I support International Women’s Day?’

You don’t have to stand on a soapbox or burn your bra to support International Women’s Day. We believe the smallest, simplest actions are the most effective in advocating gender equality in your daily life. Have those difficult conversations with your friends and family (male and female!) about gender equality. Show some love to the strongest women in your life and tell them how proud you are of all they’ve achieved. Be a geek and read up on the amazing things women have achieved throughout history - you would be surprised how many women we need to thank for the society’s most revolutionary inventions.

Post on social media with how you’re celebrating International Women’s Day with the hashtag #EachForEqual. Whatever you choose to do this International Women’s Day celebrate it with pride. Talking about women’s kick-ass history and showing the next generation what amazing things girls can do is another key part of International Women’s Day. Talk to the young girls in your family about what they want to do in the future and teach that they can do whatever they set their minds to. If we teach young girls that they deserve the same rights, opportunities and quality of life as everyone else, gender equality will become even closer.

Gender equality benefits everyone in society. Encouraging and empowering women to excel in education and in the workplace will not only improve their quality of life but also the basic standard of living for all. International Women’s Day is the day to draw attention to what still needs to be done and come together as a community supporting one another.