The history of International Women’s Day

Women are there for child-bearing, for running the household, and for cooking. They are not allowed to express their own opinions – neither in their own marriage and certainly not in society and politics. 

For many people, this all sounds like a way of thinking that has long been outdated and is no longer relevant today. Unfortunately, the truth is quite different. 

If we look at the history of different countries, it quickly becomes clear that women had to suffer from gender inequalities for a long time and partly still have to. 

It took many courageous women who fought for their rights and did not let themselves be defeated to ensure changes, at least in most countries.

Olymp de Gouges, for example, is considered the first women’s rights activist and is the author of the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen, which was published as early as 1791.  

However, it was not until 1893 that New Zealand took the first significant step toward equality as the first country to grant women the right to vote and stand for election. 

Despite increased demands for a voice in society and politics, in many countries changes still did not take place. In response, socialist organizations then decided to take the initiative and create the International Women’s Day. 

It was born in the period before the First World War during the fight for equal opportunities, the right to vote for women as well as the emancipation of women workers. The first Women’s Day was held on March 19, 1911. In 1921, its date was finally set on March 8 by a decision of the Second International Conference of Communist Women in Moscow.

26 years after the introduction of the International Women’s Day, also shortened to IWD, Germany also joined the implementation of the main demand and for the elections of the Constituent National Assembly on January 19, 1919, women could vote and also be elected for the first time. Of the 300 women who stood for election, 37 were able to win a mandate. Out of a total number of 423 deputies, this represents less than 9%. 

Nowadays, the proportion of women in the German Bundestag is around 35%. 

But even if this change sounds positive, and of course it is, it must not be forgotten that by far not all inequalities have been eliminated. 

Nowadays, women like Judith Butler, Demet Demir and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie are still actively campaigning for women’s equality in all areas of life and society. They advocate for equal educational opportunities, the balancing of the gender pay gap, and the abolition of societal stereotypes that unfortunately pose much bigger problems than they should.

As the International Women’s Day slogan “#EmbraceEquity” states, we should all do our part to ensure that women around the world are given a fair and protected environment and that inequalities are countered not only on this holiday, but every single day.

IWD at SailyGroup

In order to provide all our employees with more detailed information about this important day and to exchange experiences and thoughts, we planned and held a group meeting. In this meeting, our employees were reminded of the need for equality and anti-discrimination. Because even though no distinction is made between the genders in our own company, such important information can and should always be shared and disseminated. 

In a discussion round, we shared personal experiences of inequalities between men and women and, based on our own examples, were able to see once again the extent of injustice towards women in our everyday lives. Among other examples, we mentioned the fear that women often feel when walking alone in the dark, or the price differences in hygiene products between products designed for women and those designed for men. 

The role of men in the fight for gender equality was also questioned and thought-provoking ideas such as questioning negative masculinity and traditional role models and counteracting this through mutual support were shared. 

In this context, it is especially important to clarify the following: Feminism and the striving for expanded emancipation are not about women being more privileged than men or having more rights. Rather, it is about striving for justice and a fair, balanced ground for all genders in everyday life as well as in the workplace. 

Although at SailyGroup the work of men and women has always been of equal value, we nevertheless had to recognize that the proportion of the different genders is currently still very unbalanced. At the moment, only a quarter of our employees are female. This is something we want to change as quickly as possible and have therefore set a balanced quota as a goal for our company.

In summary, the following can be stated: It is the responsibility of all of us, as companies and as individuals, to help the women in our world get closer to a more equal world with each passing day.

So: act now and stand by all the wonderful women in this world!