By CAROLYN CARTER
Global President
International Women’s Forum

March 8 is celebrated as International Women’s Day in over 25 countries around the world – and presents an internationally recognized opportunity to applaud the achievements of women as individuals, recognize our contributions to the world and raise awareness of glass ceilings still to be shattered.

International Women’s Day (IWD) started in the early 1900s as a call to action to acknowledge women’s value and champion equality, and was first marked by the United Nations in 1975, just one year after the Women’s Forum was founded. Today, many organizations celebrate this common cause with different themes.

Likewise, our Forums have a wide range of IWD programs – highlights of these events will be shared on the IWF website starting today. Last week, every Forum President also received a social media kit with suggested posts to contribute to a unified IWF voice in support of this special day, which directly reflects our shared global mission of “advancing women’s leadership and championing equality worldwide.”

The duality of International Women’s Day, which both celebrates progress and focuses us all on the need for more progress to be made, reinforces my belief that IWF is more important in 2023 than it was when we were founded in 1974. I asked our international Board for input on this at our meeting in Madrid in February and they made a resounding case that I would like to share on this important day:

• Need: The glass ceiling is still there, it’s just higher, plus the pandemic disrupted career paths for a generation of women. 
• Risk: It’s dangerous to assume the job is done, obstacles are hidden and backsliding is easy. 
• Opportunity: The war for talent is fiercer than ever and women should leverage the moment.
• Power: More women are in positions of influence and impact to drive positive change.
• Confidence: Our global network of peers gives us the confidence to act.

International Women’s Day is a perfect moment to reach out and connect … there’s so much we can do when we support each other.