International Women’s Day is not just a get together
By Linda Belcourt, Editor, March 25, 2025
The 2nd Annual International Women’s Day event was held in partnership with North Simcoe Community Futures Development Corporation! The event was held at NSSRC on March 7th, 2025 from 11:30 am to 2:30pm. Tickets were only $20 per person. This event is a call to action for gender equity and empowerment.
With over 125 participants, there was so much laughter, great food from MegaMindful Living and inspiration from the speakers and other attendees. Everyone left with a little gift to take home from Olive Oil Co.
Jenna Fitchett, interim manager of the SGB Chamber of Commerce commented, “The speakers were amazing and made the event great. There was laughing, crying and we could all relate.”
The 1st Annual Women’s International day was the brainchild of Cathy Tait of the SGB Chamber who contacted Lois Irvine of North Simcoe Community Futures Development Corporation to immobilize the movement for the local community. They wanted a local initiative to recognize the day and realized there was a hole for this kind of event. It was a great success so the planning began for the 2nd Annual event.
International Women’s Day has its roots in the early 20th century labor and women’s rights movements. The first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States in 1909, following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America. In 1910, at the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, German activist Clara Zetkin proposed the idea of an international day to advocate for women’s rights, which was embraced by various countries. The first official International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.
Over the years, IWD has gained global recognition, and in 1977, the United Nations officially marked March 8th as a day for women’s rights and world peace. Since then, governments, organizations, and individuals worldwide have used this day to highlight gender-based issues, promote women’s achievements, and push for systemic change.
While significant progress has been made in the fight for gender equality, challenges remain. Women continue to face barriers in employment, education, healthcare, and political representation. Issues such as the gender pay gap, gender-based violence, and lack of access to leadership roles persist in many parts of the world.
International Women’s Day serves as a reminder that achieving true gender equality requires effort from everyone.
Thank you again to our sponsors:
Lead Sponsor Collaborative Haus Marketing
Economic Development Corporation North Simcoe
BDC
Olive Oil Co. Inc.
Superior Shredding
and our print sponsor PROS Marketing