So... What Was That International Women's Day Thing?

Cincinnati women got caught up in the excitement

IWD is an annual commemoration that originated in 1909. The international community uses the day to acknowledge and celebrate the women who keep the world on track. (Yeah, we do) 

And because, in America, we have a president who publicly demeans women and threatens to undermine the gains it's taken decades to achieve, March 8, 2017, took on a whole new sense of urgency. 

It even gave us a whole new hashtag, #BeBoldForChange.

Official IDW logo

IWD #BeBOldForChange

It didn't occur to me that lots of folks (translate that to mean MEN) didn't know anything about the annual celebration of women around the world. One of my clueless millennial male relatives posted his charming puzzlement on Facebook, "I have never heard of "Woman's Day until now." I suppose a lot of women didn't know about IWD either, but now they do.  


Of course this year, the celebration was bolder and more noticeable, especially with all those activist women donning red. Women didn't just commemorate the day with colors. Motivated by 45 and his dark house of cohorts, women accepted the call to rally, march, protest. Women stayed home from work and stopped shopping. Women were challenged to withhold their services to help others understand what a difference their absence makes.

As Internationalwomensday.com explains, women were encouraged to use IWD as an opportunity to...

• "celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women because visibility and awareness help drive positive change for women

• declare bold actions you'll take as an individual or organization to help progress the gender agenda because purposeful action can accelerate gender parity across the world"

Honestly, we do keep the world on track

Like the sign says "Everything is a Women's Issue." That was the point of a "Day Without Women." Women really do keep the world on track, still we are systematically taken for granted. Now more than ever. 

Here in Cincinnati, Ohio, and America we are threatened with the same male domination issues third world women have been battling for years. Many of us thought we were done with that.

In 2017, the international celebration of women took root and grew. It was such a timely idea, women across the USA, including an energetic Cincinnati group in Piatt Park, Downtown took on the challenge. 

In case you didn't get the connection, these calls to action are in the same vein as post-inaugural marches and rallies in January.

Yeah. We have to do something. 

#BeBoldForChange
Carol