International Women's Day 2023: History, significance and the theme this year

International Women's Day 2023: Know how the event will be celebrated.

March 8 will be observed around the globe as International Women's Day to celebrate the achievements of women as well as to draw attention to the inequalities that still hold them back. Ahead of the big occasion, here is a brief look at the history of the observance as well as the theme of Women's Day this year.

The observance of International Women's Day is rooted in the labour movements that happened across Europe and North America at the turn of the twentieth century.

Dates connected to these events are March 19, April 15 and  February 23. So why is women's day observed on March 8?

That has a link to Russia, where the revolution of 1917 started with women's strikes for food and voting rights.

At that time, Julian calendar was still being followed in Russia while other nations adhered to the Gregorian calendar

So February 23 in Russia was March 8 for the world.

An international women's day observance was eventually recognised by the United Nations in 1977.

Since then, members of the UN have marked the day each year and focussed attention on achieving gender equality.

International Women's Day 2023 is being observed with the theme "Embrace Equity". The theme seeks to start a conversation about how just ensuring equal opportunities is not enough. What's important is equity.

"People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action," the women's day campaign said.

Explaining the difference between equality and equity, the campaign said/ "Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome."