To honour the women of our club on International Women’s Day, recognized annually on March 8th, at the last meeting each of our members was given a red carnation by Vice-President Shirley, after being grilled on a “did you know” cross-word about the rich history of this day. Here’s an excerpt about how it started:
100 years ago, a woman named Clara Zetkin had a dream. She was the leader of the “Women’s Office” for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, and she was bothered by the lack of rights for women both in her country and around the world. At that time, women in most countries did not have the right to vote. Clara was one of many women around the world working to change that.
Clara’s dream was that in every year in every country around the world there should be a celebration on the same day—a women’s day. It would be a day when women would gather together and advocate for their rights. She pitched her idea at the second International Conference of Working Women being held in Copenhagen, Denmark that year. And her suggestion was met with unanimous approval.
One year later, Clara helped organize the first International Women’s Day. Its success exceeded all expectations—and 100 years later, we continue to celebrate it each year on March 8. Read more on President Kathy’s blog »
This past Friday, a celebration of International Womens Day was held at McMaster University in the Student Centre atrium. This one day event was organised by female students and Soroptimist member Pauline was one of two local artists asked to display work. The day included a yoga display, a demonstration of modern dance and several singing artists. The students also had table for donations to the YWCA which also displayed some of their many programs and projects.
How are you celebrating this year?