International Women’s Day & Women in Digital 2020
How are you celebrating International Women’s Day 2018 – and how can you help make the future better for women in technology?
International Women’s Day is held around the planet on March 8 every year and started as a grassroots campaign in New York in 1909. A “National Women’s Day” was suggested by activists Theresa Malkiel and Aira Salazar and perhaps even they would be surprised at what it is today.
The idea caught on in Europe and within years was being observed with protests and demonstrations across Australia, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Russia and England joined suit shortly after but it wasn’t until 1975 (the international year of women) that the United Nations formally made International Women’s Day an official global event. After that, however, it has grown in popularity and is now one of the most important dates in the calendar.
Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives
Every year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) has its own theme. Last year we wrote about 2017’s #BeBoldForChange campaign and this year is labelled Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives. It’s a long title but one that carries a lot of impacts.
This year’s theme takes its cues from the unprecedented global movements for women’s rights and justice, including the #MeToo and #TimesUp social media campaigns, combating harassment and inequality. It will also spotlight the rights and activism activities of the quarter of the world’s population who are rural women. These campaigns have already affected political, legal and social changes around the world and their influence will assuredly be even more profoundly felt as the year continues.
Women in Digital 2020
Gender diversity in the field of information technology is a challenge that women have faced almost since the dawn of the industry. Despite women in digital being some of the most important and respected software developers in history and “computers” being a term that used to mean primarily female number crunchers, the industry is mainly seen as a male-dominated space. To combat this, the Women in Digital 2020 digital strategy was started.
Women in Digital 2020 was created with the goal of changing gender diversity in technology industries, with a target of reaching 40% gender diversity around Australia.
Promoting gender diversity in the workplace promotes greater problem solving and innovation, the creation of more thoughtfully-created products that appeal to more people, and extra productivity in the workplace. There is also an ethical obligation to include women in all career paths of the future, including information technology.
Achieving these targets means a change in hiring, promotion and management policies across all workplaces including digital agencies, to make companies a better place for men to work, learn and make amazing things for everyone to enjoy in the future.
iFactory is a digital agency in Brisbane that is always looking towards the future and can’t wait to see what the women of tomorrow will bring to the world. To find out more about what our digital women and men can do for your business, contact iFactory today.
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