TWH – March in the U.S. is designated as Women’s History Month. What began as a week-long celebration of women’s history in Santa Rosa, California in 1978, timed to coincide with International Women’s Day, first became nationally recognized by President Jimmy Carter in 1980. And then in 1987, Congress designated the entire month of March as a way to celebrate the achievements and contributions of women throughout history.
International Women’s Day (IWD) has a much longer history. While the United Nations officially recognized IWD in 1977, the very first observance was on February 28, 1909 in the U.S. That first event was organized by the Socialist Party of America in support of garment industry workers who were on strike in protest of the often deplorable and extremely unsafe working conditions. The Triangle Shirtwaist Company Fire two years later in which 146 workers died, would shine a national and international spotlight on exactly how unsafe the working conditions truly were.
Throughout the early 20th century IWD was often a rallying point for a variety of issues that overly impacted the lives of women—discrimination, working rights, the women’s suffrage movement, and even WWI.
This year’s International Women’s Day has a focus and theme of inclusion:
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all #InspireInclusion.
Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness about discrimination. Take action to drive gender parity.
IWD belongs to everyone, everywhere. Inclusion means all IWD action is valid.
The creation and first observances of IWD were during a time when women enjoyed far less freedom and fewer rights than they do in most countries around the globe today. But there are still many countries where women are not considered fully equal, frequently are held in poverty, are limited in or denied access to education, and are subjected to violence.
The IWD offers a number of suggestions for organizations and groups to support and encourage equality and inclusion.
Organizations and groups can #InspireInclusion through action in areas such as:
- forging women’s economic empowerment
- recruiting, retaining and developing diverse talent
- supporting women and girls into leadership, decision-making, business and STEM
- designing and building infrastructure meeting the needs of women and girls
- helping women and girls make informed decisions about their health
- involving women and girls in sustainable agriculture and food security
- providing women and girls with access to quality education and training
- elevating women and girl’s participation and achievement in sport
- promoting creative and artistic talent of women and girls
- addressing further areas supporting the advancement of women and girls
The Wild Hunt spoke with several leaders within the Pagan Community about IWD and how they perceive the observance and the ways they honor the day.
Artist and author, Laura Tempest Zakroff told TWH, “While I tend not to be focused on specific days of celebration (versus a season or consistent work towards a cause) any reminder that our culture is still heavily affected by misogyny and that we can all work to dismantle it – is a good thing. Transphobia is rooted in misogyny. Toxic masculinity is swimming in it. Misogyny amplifies racism and inequality. And most of us – regardless of gender – suffer from internalized misogyny.”
Zakroff went on to offer some examples of ways to celebrate the day and honor both the past and present contributions of women:
So on this day, here’s a few suggestions to shift the balance:
– Celebrate the work of women, past and present: discover someone new each day this month and give them some time on your ancestor altar or working altar.
– Make a donation to an organization that’s working to protect reproductive rights, amplifies BIPOC women in business, or supports women in politics
– Be kinder to yourself about your body and work to be less reactionary-critical of other bodies. Change the programming, it’s not a competition – this is community.
Lilith Dorsey, author of Water Magic, 55 Ways to Connect to Goddess, and Orishas, Goddesses and Voodoo Queens put it simply:
“Women’s history is herstory. It’s been suppressed, rewritten, demonized, and ignored. I intend to spend today, and every day uplifting women’s voices like my own that seek to provide the real truth about the divine feminine.”
Phyllis Curott, who recently served as a Trustee and the Program Chair of the Parliament of the World’s Religions, as well as the Chair of the Parliament’s Women’s Task Force told TWH, “We’re always told that something else is more important, you know, ending the nuclear arms race is more important, you know. Make a list. Everything is always more important. Solve that first, and then we can get to the question. But personally, I’ve always felt you can’t solve any of those problems if half the population is missing.”
Curott noted that much of her work in recent years with the Parliament has been focused on making women more visible, getting women on the board to create a women’s task force, “…so that women’s interests were addressed by the Parliament so that they had a plenary, you know, this massive international event, and so that the divine feminine would finally be present on the stage in a way that she has never been really even with lots of Hindu participants.”
IWD celebrations are not as prominent in the U.S. compared to some other countries, and Curott said the answer as to why was simple, “So why is International Women’s Day unimportant in the United States? Because women are unimportant in the United States.”
And while some may disagree with her opinion, she notes that despite the many gains women have made in the past century there is still a 16% gender pay gap.
“Things have changed enormously, enormously, enormously. There are, you know, women anchors on the news. There are women commentators there. We’re making 84 cents on the dollar. There are more women in college and more women in professional positions now than a lot of men there, I mean, there’s tremendous, tremendous advancement.”
Curott is hosting a webinar today for the Parliament Women’s Task Force that is focused on women on the frontlines defending democracy. The webinar will discuss the threats of Christian Nationalism in the U.S. and its impact on women. The event is limited to PoWR members or those who have paid for limited access to programming.
Selena Fox, senior minister and high priestess of Circle Sanctuary, is another leader within the Pagan community who has been on the front lines of women’s rights.
2011 IWD Altar – courtesy – S. Fox
Fox told TWH, “One of the ways I observe International Women’s Day every year is by doing public education about Goddesses across cultures and through time, including creating altars with a variety of Goddess images from around the world. I share photos and links via social media and do livestreams and/or podcasts.
“Circle Sanctuary Minister from Chicago Laura Gonzalez and I will be doing an International Women’s Day livestream on Friday, March 8 at 9:00 am (CST) via the Circle Sanctuary YouTube Channel. We will be sharing our perspectives on this year’s IWD theme, Inspire Inclusion, and our experiences working for women’s equality in the USA and around the world.”
Gonzalez and Fox were both part of Circle Sanctuary’s delegation to the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions last August and were among the presenters, as well as being part of international women’s networking and programming at this year’s Parliament.
Selena Fox & Laura Gonzalez – courtesy of S. Fox
Fox & Curott combined forces in 2016 to have a discussion about IWD and the influence of the Goddess on Fox’s Nature Mystic podcast. The episode was featured in an encore again in 2021.
Fox went on to say, “When observing International Women’s Day, it is important to remember women and their contributions in the past, to honor women and their contributions in the present, and to inspire women and contributions for the future! IWD also is an opportunity to learn about women’s issues locally, nationally, and globally and to support women’s equality endeavors.”
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