Did you know that International Women’s Day all started with a march? No wonder we now celebrate it and Women’s History Month in March – or it would be if the origin stories were true.
The history of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month is as murky as women’s history in general. Some stories say it stemmed from an 1857 strike held by New York City female garment workers, others from the 50th anniversary in 1907 - both of which were debunked in the 1980s. The first International Women’s Day in fact took place in 1911, taking inspiration from the US’ National Women’s Day, and was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland but it wasn’t officially recognised by the United Nation with a specific date until over 60 years later. The celebration of women has continued to grow since then with the whole of March dedicated to not only women’s history, but our future too.
Celebrating Women's History Month is vital to highlight women’s many contributions to our society throughout history. From Marie Curie, who was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize in 1903 paving the way for over fifty women to receive Nobel Prizes since, to Harriet Tubman who, after escaping the slavery she was born into, helped 70 people escape from slavery via the Underground Railroad and even more through her work in the American Civil War. And to this day, women are striving to break down the barriers such as Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, who became the first women and the first African to become Director-General of the World Trade Organisation just two years ago.
This year, the month’s theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories", providing an opportunity to look at women who are involved in storytelling in all forms of media from the past, present and future. You could think of Mary Adams, who was the BBC’s first female TV producer in 1937, the present, such as BU's Chancellor journalist Kate Adie, and the future, those are studying at BU – some of whom you may even read pieces from in this paper or hear over the airwaves in the Student Centre, thanks to Nerve Media.
As your Women’s Officer, I invite you to celebrate and empower the women around you throughout March by getting involved in the events we have organised or checking out SUBU’s Allyship Hub. See everything we’ve got planned by heading to subu.org.uk/womenshistorymonth