Social media is key this International Women’s Day
LONDON, UK – From Afghanistan to Zimbabwe women are heavily using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn to focus global attention on areas where inequalities prevail.
8 March marks the 101st International Women’s Day with thousands of events occurring worldwide that celebrate women’s progress or rally against inequality.
World dignitaries including the President of the United States of America Barack Obama and UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon proclaim official statements supporting International Women’s Day and its focus. Celebrity supporters for the day include singer-songwriter and We are Equals activist Annie Lennox, Avon Foundation advocate Reese Witherspoon and OXFAM supporter Kristin Davis.
For decades women have banded together to challenge injustices, overcome barriers and pursue equality. International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to commemorate these efforts, celebrate progress and call for commitment to women’s rights, peace and equality. Social media and #womensday tweets provide a whole new way to interact, clearly a contrast to the days of pioneering suffragettes.
Glenda Stone, founder of the internationalwomensday.com website that has served as a global hub for International Women’s Day events, resources and news for over a decade says:
“Activity on International Women’s Day has skyrocketed over the last five years. This is due to the rise of social media, celebrity involvement, and corporations taking on the day sponsoring and running big events. Ourtwitter.com/womensday community with around 10,000 followers is phenomenal for sharing videos, information and news as it happens. Offline large scale women’s rallies have become even larger through the use of social media. It would be hard to find any country that did not celebrate the day in some way.”
International Women’s Day, which saw its first event run in 1911, continues to provide a powerful opportunity to unite, network and mobilise worldwide for meaningful change. It provides an opportunity to make a stand against inequality, discrimination and marginalisation that only serves to weaken all of our societies.
