International Women’s Day 2025

"Feminism isn't about making women strong. Women are already strong. It's about changing the way the world perceives that strength" - G. D. Anderson


Every year on International Women's Day, I start the day feeling happy, proud, and excited to empower and celebrate the amazing women in my life, and yet every year I very quickly become upset, angry, and increasingly frustrated with the state of the world.

Just this morning, I saw some staggering facts that I wanted to share…

- 1 in 5 women worldwide are married before they turn 18. This is 12 million girls every year. (Girls Not Brides, Save the Children)

- 122 million girls remain out of school globally, and in Afghanistan, at least 1.4 million girls have been denied education or schooling. (UN Women, UNESCO)

- 789,000 women in the UK will experience rape or sexual assault every year. That’s 1 in 30 women. (Cambridge Rape Crisis)

- There is still no federal law in the U.S. requiring paid maternity leave. (The U.S. Department of Labor)

- 90% of World Leaders are Men. At this rate, it would take until the year 2400 for us to reach gender equality in political leadership. (Financial Times)

We have been celebrating IWD now for over 100 years, and we have so much further to go. Still, the question persists: 'Why do we still need it?' The answer is simple: Until women and girls globally have true safety, support, and rights, our fight for justice and equality continues.

Today, celebrate the women in your life. Your mothers, daughters, sisters, aunties, grandmothers, friends, wives, girlfriends.

Men, empower women by using your voice.

Women, stand tall and speak up, because in doing so you speak for women and girls all over the world who may not be in a safe position to do so.

Stand up for women in any way you can, and take action for equality.