International Women's Day 2023: History, significance, theme

This year, the United Nations declared the theme as "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality" to emphasise the importance of technology in bringing gender issues to light.

Every year on March 8, International Women's Day is observed to spread the message of gender equality to create a better society free of gender bias. The day celebrates women and addresses issues such as women's equal rights, violence and abuse against women, and reproductive rights.

The United Nations Charter in 1945 became the first international agreement to affirm the principle of equality between men and women. Later, on March 8, 1975, during International Women's Year, UN observed its first official International Women's Day.

Following the adoption of a resolution by the UN General Assembly in 1977, International Women's Day became a mainstream global holiday, with member states invited to proclaim March 8 as an official UN holiday for women's rights and world peace.

Theme

This year, the United Nations declared the theme as "DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality" to emphasise the importance of technology in bringing gender issues to light.

Some facts about women in digital technology

-According to an International Telecommunication Union (ITU) report, as of 2022, only 63% of women use the internet, compared to 69% of men.

- A World Economic Forum (WEF) report said that by 2050, 75% of jobs will be related to STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) areas. Yet today, women hold just 22% of positions in artificial intelligence, to name just one.

-A study of 51 countries revealed 38% of women had personally experienced online violence, according to Gender Snapshot report in 2022.

UNESCO's message for this year

Director General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay stated in her message for this year's International Women's Day that there is a need to ensure that women and girls benefit from the opportunities provided by technological transformation while also ensuring equal footing. She stated that this year's Day will focus on "innovation and technology for gender equality," noting that women are four times less likely to have advanced ICT skills, make up less than 20% of the tech workforce, and conduct only 12% of AI research.