International Women’s Day

Mark the date: Friday 8th March 2019 is the International Women’s Day

As an all-female team here at Mantra, and with a huge commitment to empowering and supporting women and girls to be strong, confident individuals, we are keen supporters of International Women's Day.

The date for ‘International Women’s Day’ comes from women gaining suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 then became a national holiday there. It was then adopted by the United Nations in 1975 for an international day to recognise women.

The first National Women’s day started in 1909 in the United States by the American Socialist Party in New York to honour garment workers who protested against working conditions. 

History and Milestones

As a result of an initiative by the Socialist International, International Women’s Day was then marked at 19th March in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany. More than 1 million men and women attended rallies for the right to vote and hold public office, rights to work, vocational training and to end work discrimination.

• In 1913-14 this movement became a mechanism to protest World War 1 as part of a peace movement. In Russia 1917, women were granted the right to vote by the government following a strike for ‘Bread and Peace’.
• 1918 was the year British women over the age of 30 were allowed to vote by the Representation of people Act.
• In 1928 the Conservative government gave women over the age of 21 the right to vote, equal to men.
• During International Women’s year the United Nations started to celebrate the day on the 8th of March which began in 1975.
• In 1995, 189 governments signed a ‘Platform for Action’ which focused on 12 areas including: politics, education, having an income and to live in a violence and discrimination free society.
• “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls” was launched in 2014 to address gender equality.

Now, more than ever, there's a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity. The International Women's Day 2019 campaign theme is #BalanceforBetter. There is no doubt it will be a better world when it is a more gender-balanced world. 

Individually, we're one drop but together we're an ocean. Commit to a "gender parity mindset" via progressive action. Let's all collaborate to accelerate gender parity, so our collective action powers equality worldwide.

Take action now!

Celebrate the day with our 'Empower' charity necklace for Care International, or our female 'Strength' necklace. And available to order now - our new "Sisterhood" necklace, in support of Women for Women International.