Today, March 8, is International Women’s Day. This day was set aside by the United Nations in 1977, but the honoring of this day stretches back to 1911 with origins in the socialist working women’s movement (Johnman, Sim & Mackie, 2016) . Learn more about the importance of this day from the resources below.

Gender Inequity in the COVID era

Gender inequity has been made especially clear throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.  UN Women has declared the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day to be “Women in leadership: Achieving and equal future in a COVID-19 world.” The intention of this theme is to not only highlight the disparate impact that this pandemic is having on women globally, but also to celebrate the women at the forefront of the fight to end it.

Academic Sources

• The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the care burden of women and families by Kate Power
• Women are most affected by pandemics — lessons from past outbreaks by Clare Wenham, Julia Smith, Sara E. Davies, Huiyun Feng, Karen A. Grépin, Sophie Harman, Asha Herten-Crabb &
  Rosemary Morgan
• International women’s day: fighting for the right to health care while facing COVID-19 by Marcia Mendonça Carneiro

News & Popular Sources

• Breaking the glass vial: Women at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine by Susan Brown & Roopa Dhatt
• Where Do Women In STEM Stand In 2021? And how has COVID-19 impacted their progress? by Sophie McEvoy
• These Girls & Women Won’t Let COVID-19 Stop Them From Helping Others by Marion Hart
• COVID-19 fueled a domestic violence crisis. Now, the stimulus bill could help women and children leave abusers by Romina Ruiz-Goiriena
• How Have U.S. Working Women Fared During the Pandemic? by Jonathan Rothwell and Lydia Saad

Documentaries

• RBG directed & produced by Julie Cohen, Betsy West
• Free Angela and All Political Prisoners Directed by Shola Lynch
• Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide directed by Maro Chermayeff

Women’s Own Words

• We should all be feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• I am Malala : the girl who stood up for education and was shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai  and Christina Lamb
• The world split open : how the modern women’s movement changed America by Ruth Rosen
• The feminine mystique by Betty Friedan
• A vindication of the rights of women by Mary Wollstonecraft

United Nations International Women’s Day Virtual Event

• View the event live today or after it’s completed on the United Nations You Tube Channel