International Women's Day 2022: When is IWD, #BreakTheBias, and why do we celebrate International Women's Day?

Despite huge strides in gender equality over the last few decades, there are still significant inequalities to address.

For example, in Scotland in 2015, the overall gender pay gap in Scotland stood at 14.8%, with women overrepresented in informal, temporary and part time work, and more likely to be paid below the living wage, according to the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

Nonetheless, there is still plenty to be celebrated among women’s achievements, which is why each year people around the world celebrate International Women’s Day.

Here’s more about this year’s theme and how to get involved.

When is International Women’s Day 2022?

IWD 2022 is on Tuesday March 8th, 2022, in the second week of Women’s History Month.

Why do we celebrate International Women's Day?

The idea of International Women’s Day is to celebrate the achievements of women in all areas of society.

IWD organisers have several missions that they focus on in particular:

- Women and Technology

- Women At Work

- Women Forging Change

- Women Creatives

- Women’s Empowerment

- Women’s Health

- Women and Sport

You can find out more and get involved in some International Women’s Day events by taking a look at the website, with a wide range of event idea inspiration and organised national events from the IWD team to choose from.

What is the theme for International Women’s Day 2022?

Every year, International Women’s Day celebrates a different theme.

In 2022, the theme is #BreakTheBias, where IWD are encouraging women to share photos of themselves with crossed arms in front of them to highlight the movement.

"Individually, we're all responsible for our own thoughts and actions - all day, every day,” reads a statement on the IWD website. “We can break the bias in our communities. We can break the bias in our workplaces. We can break the bias in our schools, colleges and universities.

“Together, we can all break the bias - on International Women's Day (IWD) and beyond.”

You can also find various resources to plan your own IWD activity here.