By Hanna Leppanen
Not too long ago, International Women’s Day was celebrated largely by men, who gave the women in their life chocolates and flowers to mark the day.
Times have changed. The message of International Women’s Day 2020 is to be equal in every aspect of life.
It all started way back in 1911, when over one million people gathered together to defend and support women’s rights. But in many countries, it deteriorated into a day when men “thanked” women for all the thankless chores they performed over the years, such as cooking, cleaning and looking after shared children.
Now – in the UK, at least – this day is set to mark a celebration of all the achievements of women throughout history.
This year’s campaign theme is #Eachforequal, which means that every individual should actively choose to challenge stereotypes. The fight is on for a gender-equal government, gender-equal media coverage and gender-equal workplaces.
Islington4Women is organizing a special Afternoon Tea on Thursday 5th of March in Odeon Luxe. The idea is to bring local women together and to share inspiring ideas and stories from different generations.
“We want to bring women together and make sure that Islington is a welcoming and safe place for all the women. This is just one event we organize, but we fight for these things every day,” says Gloria Evans, 38, a volunteer for Islington4Women.
The ReBalance music programme, which offers studio space to residents, is celebrating International Women’s Day in Union Chapel on 8th of March. They have invited women from the music industry to meet those who want to build a music career. The idea of the event is to make connections and to encourage women to pursue their dreams.
“Lack of female representation in music is a huge issue. Every woman who wants to make it in the industry should have equal rights and possibilities to do so. This is why we wanted to host this event,” says Leah Allen, 26, from the ReBalance team.
NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator is organizing a networking breakfast on Friday 13th of March, bringing together women to discuss the challenges of female entrepreneurship and to take ‘women supporting women’ to the next level.
#Eachforequal theme is going to continue all year long and different kinds of events, workshops and panels will be ongoing through the year.
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