Happy International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month 2021!
March 8th is International Women’s Day (IWD), a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Started in 1911, IWD is celebrated every year to raise awareness about women’s equality, fundraise for female-focused charities, among others. This year’s theme is “Choose to Challenge.” To bring awareness to IWD, we have provided Zoom/WebEx backgrounds and a fun Social Media Challenge. See attachments with further details of these initiatives! Learn more here.
March is also Women’s History Month, which occurs every year to honor notable women leaders, past and present, to acknowledge their significant contributions to American History. In 1978, this cultural awareness celebration was originally named “Women’s History Week,” which happened on the week of March 8th to coincide with IWD. Women’s History Week later expanded nationally in 1980 by President Jimmy Carter who then designated March as “Women’s History Month.” Learn more here.
Throughout March, we will host three amazing guest speakers including Lori Mackenzie the Executive Director of Stanford University’s Clayman Institute, Dr. Ro an award-winning health journalist and television personality, and Rachel Thomas the CEO & Co-founder of Lean In. See attached flyer. For each speaker, calendar invitations will be sent separately.
We hope you can join us in celebrating these cultural awareness events honoring women. Also, check out IDHE’s curated resources focused on Women’s History Month here. We are looking forward to celebrating with you!
For more information, please click on the links below.
Sincerely, IDHE Women & Allies ERG Leadership Team