Planet 50-50 by 2030: International Women’s Day 2016

International Women’s Day 2016

The year’s calendar is quite full with international days. The United Nations celebrates no less than 127 of these observances. The ones that stand out the most for me are those that strongly support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that were agreed and published in September 2015. #InternationalWomensDay, celebrated today, March 8, is such a day.

This is the 105^th time that #IWD has been celebrated. This year’s theme is “Planet 50-50 by 2030”, taking its cue from two of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning

International Women’s Day 2016 is also highlighting new commitments under the UN Women’s Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women’s empowerment and women’s human rights.

Recognizing women in work & development, girls in education

Women are there working hard on the front-line when it comes to taking meaningful actions on water, food or other aspects of sustainable development. Whether you are a leader in your community, in a non-governmental organization (NGO), at home, in work or in public office, here’s to celebrating your past successes and the removal of gender inequalities, including the rights to equal pay and access to all economic opportunities.

School girls also continue their struggle to be accepted as equals and deal with unnecessary, artificial and archaic educational boundaries. Too many girls in the world are struggling to even be school girls. Here’s to celebrating your achievements in life so far and your rightful access to inclusive and quality education, wherever you live. 

For more images on women in work and development, please see www.jashleynixon.com