International Women’s Day 2022

By: Brooke Paganelli

Happy International Women’s Day! International Women’s Day has been celebrated every year on March 8 since 1911, when Clara Zetkin first proposed the idea. On this day, more than a million women attended rallies campaigning for women’s rights. Rights such as the right to vote, rights in the workforce, among many others. 

Much like Women’s History Month, every International Women’s Day has its own theme. The theme for 2022 is “Time to Break the Bias.” This theme calls for a culture free of prejudice where we can move forward in progress together. 

What are some ways we can work to break the bias? First: we can call out any prejudice we see on a day to day basis. In school or work, whenever you see a woman being treated unfairly, you can say something. Second, we can work to better ourselves when it comes to bias. Everybody suffers, if only slightly, from implicit bias. Implicit bias, also known as implicit social cognition, is the subliminal prejudice we apply to others due to our environment. If we can catch ourselves in the middle of prejudiced thoughts, and challenge our implicit bias, then we are already one more step further on the path to equality. 

There are many things we can do to celebrate International Women’s Day! Honoring the women in our lives is one of the most important things we can do today. They live every day with the oppression and violence that women often suffer from. Donating to a nonprofit that benefits women, such as Women4Change Indiana, is another great way to celebrate women today. 

In many ways, women are still seen as second-class citizens in America. Today, however, we are given an opportunity to learn, grow, and celebrate alongside women. These practices are ones we can and should incorporate into our everyday lives. When we do so, our community grows in ways previously unseen.