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National Museum of Women in the Arts

International Women’s Day

Abstract painting features translucent, wave-like turquoise, aquamarine, and fuchsia washes mingled with red lines and hard-edged, matte-pink sinuous shapes bounded by blue and green scales. Other details resolve into a human hand, tree-sprigged mountains, and craggy branches.
International Women’s Day is a global annual celebration of women and their achievements on March 8.

History

  • The first day celebrating women occurred in the United States 1909, but women had been gathering in support of women’s rights since the mid-1800s when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized the first women’s rights convention in New York in 1848.
  • In 1910 Europe held its own Women’s Day to garner support for women’s rights and universal suffrage.
  • In 1975 the United Nations established March 8 as International Women’s Day, which was the first celebration of International Women’s Day as we know it.
This marigold colored filer contains a black pen drawing of an open mouth speaking to an ear wearing a hoop earring in the shape of a female gender symbol. Between the mouth and the ear are details about a house party taking place at Women’s House on Gothersgade in Copenhagen on July 25.
House party flier from the Copenhagen International Festival of Women Artists

International Women’s Day at NMWA

Celebrate International Women’s Day with NMWA! Check out the calendar for upcoming events.

View details from past International Women’s Day programs from 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Watch Past International Women’s Day Programs , opens in new tab 

More Ways to Engage

Support gender equity in the arts today and every day! Check out a few ways to get started:

A figure with long wavy blonde hair stands in front of a white wall with her head down. The figure's face and body are covered by vibrant yellow fabric that drapes to the floor. The words “Can You Name #5WomenArtists?” are written in green in the upper left corner of the image.
Mwangi Hutter, Reign (detail), 2012; Photograph, 72 x 48 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of the Tony Podesta Collection, Washington, DC; © Mwangi Hutter