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History of International Women’s Day
• The act to set aside a specific day to campaign for women’s rights began in 1908. That year in the US, the Socialist Party created a Women's National Committee to campaign for women’s right to suffrage, which recommended that a day every year be designated to campaign for women's right to vote.
• On March 8, 1908, Branch No. 3 of the New York City Social Democratic Women's Society sponsored a mass meeting on women's rights. • In 1909, American socialists agreed to designate the last Sunday of February as National Women's Day. • In May 1910, at the national congress of the Socialist Party, the Women's National Commission proposed that the last Sunday of February be recognized as International Women’s Day. • In Copenhagen, at the Conference of Socialist Women in August 1910, women members or the socialist party also designated a day during this month to celebrate international women’s day. • Until 1917, International Women’s Day was celebrated on different dates throughout the world. In the US, International Women’s Day continued to be celebrated in February. • The International Women’s Day protest that changed the world occurred in Russia in 1917 (March 8 in the Western calendar; February 23 in the Gregorian calendar). International Women’s Day in 1917 inspired thousands of Russian women to leave their homes and factories to protest food shortage, high prices, the war, and increased suffering they had bitterly endured. • After 1917, and in honor of women's role in the Russian Revolution, International Women’s Day became March 8 in socialists’ list of events. • International Women’s Day was celebrated as a socialist occasion honoring working women. • With the resurgence of feminism in the late 1960s came renewed interest in International Women’s Day. Feminists found it ready-made holiday for the celebration of women's lives and work, and added new meaning to March 8.
