March

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and it also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

In 2026, the UN theme for IWD is “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”, calling for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls.

QMU has a long and proud history of advancing gender parity and inclusion since its establishment. Founded in 1875, the institution that has now become Queen Margaret University provided education for working class women at a time when society made that challenging. Society, and the institution, have evolved significantly but this original commitment to making education open to all still inspires us.

Today, we remain committed to driving our gender equality work as a proud member of the Athena Swan Charter, a framework used across the globe to support and transform gender equality. Each year, the QMU Aurora Network host an event open to all staff and students to mark International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day grew out of the labour movement. The seeds were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote.

A year later, the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day. The idea to make it an international event came from Clara Zetkin, a communist activist and advocate for women’s rights.

In 1910, she raised it at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. Her suggestion was unanimously backed by the 100 women from 17 countries who were at the conference. The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

Ms Zetkin’s original idea for an international celebration was not tied to a particular day. The 8 March date was chosen after Russian women demanded “bread and peace” during a war-time strike in 1917.