Since 1975, the United Nations has been celebrating International Women’s Day each year on March 8. This year’s theme is “Equality for women is progress for all.”
Organizations, international corporations and celebrities from around the globe took to social media on Saturday to mark the event.
Some posts are celebratory — others cautionary.
- The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) tweeted out statistics on the state of girls and education. Less than 40 percent of countries provide both girls and boys with equal access to school, UNESCO said.
- UNESCO highlighted the status of women in the sciences.
- The World Health Organization released guidance on access to contraception and family planning tools.
- The UN is posting statistics about gender equality on Twitter, including information about women in the UN Peacekeeping forces:
On #WomensDay, find out how women are a growing force in @UNPeacekeeping http://t.co/xb7YTaIkjM #IWD2014 pic.twitter.com/ns9FutLYF4
— United Nations (@UN) March 8, 2014
- The International Labour Organization posted a collection of photos related to women’s rights in the workplace called, “The fight for women’s rights in the workplace — an ILO history.”
The current state of women in the world’s workforce was also detailed earlier this year in The World Bank’s “Gender at Work” companion to the World Development Report on Jobs.
Women’s World Daily — figures from The World Bank’s Gender at Work report. Credit: Kristin Miller/NewsHour Weekend
Official UN observances of International Women’s Day were held in New York on March 7.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the event:
For more on International Women’s Day, you can also watch the UN’s playlist of related videos:
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