Today, on Tuesday 8 March, we celebrate International Woman’s Day across all our programmes.
International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.
IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organisation specific.
International Woman’s Day is about “Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls.” So says United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. With the current climate of seeing gender stereotypes being constantly challenged and more diverse representation of women across roles, this is still not enough and a more progressive attitude is still needed world-wide which Active Students understands being primarily a female-headed programme, with the hard work and dedication being put on display for all those around who are involved in the programme.
Each year, there’s a different theme - and this year, it’s #BreaktheBias.
Bias, whether unconscious or deliberate, can make it difficult for women to progress in their careers or even receive the right healthcare. Jessica Nordell, author of The End of Bias, says everyday incidents of gender bias, such as women receiving less credit in mixed work groups, creating the so-called glass ceiling which sees far fewer women in c-suites globally.
This year, International Women’s Day is urging everyone to “actively call out gender bias, discrimination and stereotyping each time you see it”.
Which is why Active Students want more females to be involved in sport. Over 43% of teenage girls drop out from sporting activities with 60% of girls not meeting the recommended exercise requirements, mainly due to the struggles and stigmas around being a female in sport.
Today, Active students will be giving double stamps to women who attend sessions, and those who can't make it onto Campus today will be given an extra stamp if they tag Active Students in their photos being physically active in thier local area.
Take a look at all our Women's Only sessions on offer today and everything else you can take part in on our timetable HERE.
Remember, women are welcome at ALL our sessions, not just our Women's Only sessions.