Every year on March 8th, the world pauses to mark International Women’s Day (IWD). Some people celebrate. Some people question whether we still need it. The answer, backed by data and lived experience, is yes.
The day started in 1908, with 15,000 women taking to the streets to demand shorter hours, fair pay and the right to vote. Over a century later, much has changed — laws have been rewritten, doors have opened, and girls are now often outpacing boys in education and taking leadership positions. But as the numbers below show, there is still a long way to go.
For younger women and girls, IWD carries a particular weight. They are growing up in a world of extraordinary possibility and, at the same time, extraordinary pressure. And as the data shows, the gap between education and opportunity remains wide — girls are outpacing boys in classrooms, yet only 29.5% of senior managers worldwide are women.
If you are a woman reading this, you are part of a story that stretches back over a century — written by people who were told to be patient, to be quiet, to wait their turn. They didn’t. They marched, organised, argued and refused, and because they did, the world is different. That story is still being written, and this day is a reminder that you are one of its authors.
