International Women's Day at Lancaster
Tuesday 04-03-2025 - 09:23
Written by Ella Smith
Ella is the Wellbeing Officer at LUSU.
This week is an important week (not just because it’s your Students Union election period) but because this Saturday celebrates International Women’s Day.
Every day women are fighting for gender equality. We battle stereotypes, biases, discrimination, gender-based violence, the list goes on and on. International Women’s Day highlights women’s achievements all over the world, across many disciplines – political, cultural and social.
In the UK, 1928 saw the Equal Franchise Act, giving women the same voting rights as men; abortion was legalised in 1968; 2010 Equality Act states women will receive equal pay to men. These are just some of the feminist milestones worth celebrating from the past hundred years, but there is still a long way to go to dismantle gender inequality. This year’s theme is Accelerating Action, calling on everyone – yes everyone, to work harder and faster in creating more inclusive and equitable practices for all. I’ve been working on a Stop Sexual Misconduct and Harassment campaign, holding the University accountable for their failings and looking forward to including student voices in the review of their systems. The She Calls the Shots campaign also launched this year, bringing together womens+ from different backgrounds to lift each other up and work together. Now more than ever is your time to shine: continue having those awkward conversations with your family and friends, call that person out on their misogynist actions, celebrate women-led activity. Together, we work to change the narrative.
There’s plenty of initiatives happening on and off campus - here’s a calendar summary:
Tuesday 4th March
1pm – Crafts with Women in STEM x Fylde College @ Fylde Common Room
6pm – Women+ In Sport Townhall event @ Fylde LT 1
7pm – Feminist society Craftivism Workshop @ Fylde LT 2
Wednesday 5th March
2:30pm – She Calls the Shots x Women in Business panel event (sign-up link here) @ LUMS
8pm – Feminist society x Cocktail society bar social @ Tipple
Thursday 6th March
7pm – Women+ in STEM x Physics society bracelet making @ Bowland North SR 25
Saturday 8th March
10am – Her Lancaster @ Ashton Memorial
4pm – Consent Collective bar crawl @ Jailors Barrel
Especially this week, let’s celebrate how far we’ve come.
