A look at the history of this important day.Photo: Getty Images AsiaPac
International Women's Day didn't just come out of thin air -- it took a long list of women to get this holiday started and to continue the celebration year after year. Here's a timeline of how we got here.
1908
Social unrest among women was at an all-time high. Women were angry about their oppression and inequality, leading them to march through New York City to demand shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. It's estimated that there were 15,000 women there.
1909
The Socialist Party of America declared the first National Women's Day on February 28th.
1910
Clara Zetkin of the "Women's Office" for the Social Democratic Party in Germany introduced the idea of an International Women's Day during a conference in Copenhagen. The idea was unanimously approved by over 100 women at the conference, which represented 17 countries.
1911
International Women's Day was honored for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on March 19th. More than one million people attended rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, hold public office and end discrimination.
Less than a week later, the "Triangle Fire" of New York City took 140 working women's lives, which drew more attention to working conditions and labor legislation.
1913-1914
Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on Feb. 23rd. After discussions, it was agreed that the day would be marked annually as March 8th.
In 1914, women campaigned against the war and expressed solidarity with one another. Several women were arrested for speaking out.
1917
Russian women began a strike "for bread and peace" in response to the death of over 2 million Russian soldiers in World War 1.
1975
International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations.
1996
The United Nations announced the first annual theme for International Women's Day: "Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future."
The 1997 theme was "Women at the Peace Table," 1998 was "Women and Human Rights," and "1999 was "World Free of Violence Against Women."
2001
Women behind the InternationalWomensDay.com platform re-energize the day and begins to adopt annual campaigns to help other women.
2011
For the 100-year celebration of International Women's Day, President Barack Obama declared March 2011 to be "Women's History Month." Secretary of State Hilary Clinton launched the "100 Women Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls Through International Exchanges."
2022
The world is largely in support of International Women's Day and Women's History Month as a whole, yet many demands that helped create this day in history have still not been met. Women have not yet gained true equality and will continue to fight for such every day -- not just within the bounds of our month.
(International Women's Day)