Worldwide, women continue to contribute to social, economic, cultural and political achievement.
International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world and Mexico is no exception. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. International Women’s Day first emerged from the activities of labour movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and across Europe.
Since those early years, International Women’s Day has assumed a new global dimension for women in developed and developing countries alike.
Here is a brief list of Women’s firsts!
1608: Juliana Morell First woman to earn a doctorate degree
1784 :June 4, Élisabeth Thible First known woman to ride in a hot air balloon
1903: Marie Curie, first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Physics; she shared the prize with Antoine Henri Becquerel and Pierre Curie
1910-1911 Lilian Bland First woman in the world to design, build, and fly an aircraft
1918: Sara Teasdale, first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry (for her work Love Songs.)
1920: Women’s suffrage in the United States, the legal right of women to vote in that country, was established over the course of several decades, first in various states and localities, sometimes on a limited basis, and then nationally in 1920
1926: August 6, Gertrude Ederle, first woman to swim across the English Channel.
1943: The all-american girls professional baseball league becomes the first professional baseball league for female players
1984 Joan Benoit wins the first women’s olympic marathon
1997 Madeleine Albright becomes the first female secretary of state
2010 Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win an oscar for best director
2014 England and Wales and Scotland: The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes forcing someone to marry (including abroad) a criminal offense.[220] The law came into effect in June 2014 in England and Wales and in October 2014 in Scotland.
2015 Brazil: enacts law against femicide
2015 Algeria: An Algerian law came into effect punishing violence against women and sexual harassment
Woman break the mold every day and make significant changes in the world! International Women’s Day is a good time to reflect on the progress made, ask for more changes and celebrate the courage and determination of women, that has played a key role in the history of their countries and communities.
