TOTW: International Women's (Day) Month

International Women’s Day 2020 took place on Sunday 8th March and there was a lot happening online and in real life to celebrate the day. The theme this year is ‘I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights’ and is aligned with UN Women’s new multigenerational campaign, Generation Equality.

“Imagine a world where all people have equal rights and opportunities. Women and girls are not afraid of walking home late at night, and men and boys are not trapped in oppressive masculinities. In this world, gender equality is the norm. Men and women get paid equally for work of equal value and share the care work at home.”

Illustration: Nike Akinfenwa

The glorious day in question was founded when the Socialist Party of America organised a Women’s Day in NYC back in 1909. Following this, a proposal was made at the 1910 International Socialist Woman’s Conference that a special ‘women’s day’ should be organised every single year… and so International Women’s Day was born. The way that it is celebrated varies significantly across the world, in some countries it is actually a public holiday, but in other countries people don’t even know what it is.

At FLO London, we believe strongly in the principles of gender equality, and of feminism. As a result, we decided not to limit the female empowerment messaging and content to just one day. Instead, we have decided to release a variety of International Women’s Day related content across the entire month of March. You will have already seen posts discussing film, books, periods and art on our website, but keep your eyes peeled for new editions on podcasts, music, TV and shopping.

Words by Mollie Kate Cohen