In Celebration of Women

Today is International Women’s Day—and this year it’s going to be a big one. There are over 1600 events taking place worldwide, and more than 250 events taking place in Canada alone. To top it off, International Women’s Day is also celebrating its 100 year anniversary.
Since the United Nations took over IWD in 1975, they have allowed each country to choose a theme for their celebrations and this year, Canada has picked the theme of “Strong Leadership. Strong Women. Strong World: Equality.”

But how do we celebrate that, exactly?

Unlike Christmas, Easter, or Mother’s Day, there’s little discussion about how one celebrates or participates in IWD. Do we take to the streets, feminists flags held high, or spend time with our daughters discussing women’s issues? The good news is that it’s not necessary to decorate a tree, hide chocolates, or bring home some flowers on International Women’s Day. Here at SavvyMom, we feel that this day shouldn’t be passed by completely unnoticed, so we’ve come up with a few ideas on how to celebrate.

Appreciate the women in your life. Last year, the SavvyMom team gave some honourable ‘womentions’ to the women they admired—why not give it a try? Tell your mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, friends, and grandmothers how much they mean to you. I think we can all agree that every woman could use a little more appreciation.

Volunteer. While life is generally better for women in Canada, there are still a lot of women who are struggling with low incomes, domestic abuse, single parenting, or sexual assault. There is no better day than today to volunteer at your local women’s centre, or bring some much-needed feminine products to a shelter nearby. Every little bit helps.

Take some time out for you. As women, we tend to spend a lot of time focusing on other people, and in the meantime forget about ourselves—but not today. Read a book, go for a walk, or just take a nice relaxing bath—this day is for you, enjoy it.