The United Nations (UN’s) International Women’s Day (IWD) is annually observed across the globe on 8 March to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. IWD aims to recognise women for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic, or political.
- 8 March 2025 marks 50 years of the UN’s official commemoration of IWD.
Theme:
i.The 2025 theme of the IWD is “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”.
ii.The theme is fully aligned with the UN 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) “Accelerating Gender Equality: Empowering Women and Girls Beyond Beijing+30”.
- The CSW69 will be held under the chairmanship of Saudi Arabia at the UN Headquarters in New York, the United States of America (USA) from March 10 to 21, 2025.
iii.The campaign theme of IWD 2025 is ‘Accelerate Action‘, emphasising the significance of taking rapid and resolute steps to achieve gender equality.
Background:
i.The UN started celebrating International Women’s Day in 1975, which was declared “International Women’s Year”.
ii.In December 1977, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution proclaiming March 8th of every year as the UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.
History:
i.The IWD celebrated on March 8th is associated with the women’s movements during the Russian Revolution (1917).
- By 1917 a vast number of women were working in factories, both in munitions and replacing recruited men.
ii.In 1917, women in Russia chose to protest and strike under the slogan “Bread and Peace” on the last Sunday in February in the Julian Calendar (which fell on March 8 in the Gregorian or Gregorian calendar).
iii.Russia used the Julian calendar before 1917 and on 14 February 1918, Russia officially adopted the Gregorian calendar, following the Russian Revolution (February Revolution).
iv.Russia’s 23 February 1917 aligned with 8 March in other European countries using the Gregorian calendar.
- Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar in 1582 to correct errors in the Julian calendar.
Key Significance of 2025:
i.2025 marks the 30th Anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) (1995), the most comprehensive and visionary agenda ever for gender equality and the human rights of all women and girls.
- The declaration was also the first global policy document on women that included a specific focus on girls’ rights.
ii.BPfA was signed by 189 governments at the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, held between 4-15 September 1995.
2025 Event:
The official UN Commemoration event of the IWD was held on 7 March 2025 at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Hall in New York, the USA.
Reports Launched:
The UN has launched 2 reports for the occasion of IWD 2025:
1.The Report of the UN Women Women’s Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing, highlights findings from the UN Secretary-General’s report on the 30-year review covering 159 countries, assessing progress and challenges in gender equality.
- The report reveals that nearly a quarter (25%) of governments worldwide reported a decline in women’s rights in 2024.
- This includes increased discrimination, weakened legal protections, and reduced funding for women-focused initiatives.
Challenges Faced by Women and Girls:
i.Only 87 countries have ever been led by a woman.
ii.A woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes by a partner or family member.
iii.Digital technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) reinforce harmful stereotypes, while the digital gender gap limits opportunities.
iv.The past decade has seen a 50% rise in the number of women and girls affected by conflict.
v.Women’s rights defenders face daily harassment, personal attacks, and threats to their lives.
Key Points:
i.The report shows the progress that must be acknowledged:
- Since 1995, parity in girls’ education has been achieved and maternal mortality has been reduced by one-third
- Women’s representation in parliaments has doubled and countries have enacted 1,531 legal reforms (between 1995 and 2024) to remove discriminatory laws across 189 countries.
2.A joint report GIRL GOALS: What has changed for girls? Adolescent Girls’ Rights over 30 years, launched by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Kingdom (UK)-based Plan International and the UN Women reviews how adolescent girls’ lives have changed in the last 30 years since the BPfA was endorsed in 1995.
Key Points:
i.As per the report, the number of girls out of school worldwide declined to 122 million in 2023, a 39% decrease from 200 million in 2000.
- As of 2023, 122 million girls are out of school globally, compared to 128 million boys.
ii.Globally, the adolescent birth rate (births per 1,000 adolescent girls aged 15–19) has nearly halved over the past 30 years from 73 to 38.
- Still, nearly 12 million adolescent girls aged 15–19 are expected to give birth in 2025.
IWD 2025 in India:
1.On March 3, 2025, ahead of the IWD 2025, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi invited women to share their life journeys on the NaMo Application(app) Open Forum.
2.The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a functional organisation under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), observed IWD on 8th March 2025 and released the “Cyber Security Handbook for Mahila Suraksha,” a comprehensive guide aimed at empowering women across India with essential cyber hygiene practices.
3.On IWD 2025, the Legislative Department, Ministry of Law & Justice (MoL&J), formally released a significant publication titled, The Life and Contributions of the Women Members of the Constituent Assembly.
i.This book pays tribute to 15 remarkable women including lawyers, social reformers, and freedom fighters, who played a crucial role in drafting the Indian Constitution but remain largely unrecognised.
ii.The 15 pioneering women are:
- Ammu Swaminathan – Advocated gender equality in constitutional provisions.
- Annie Mascarene – Contributed to federalism and state integration.
- Begum Qudsia Aizaz Rasul – the only Muslim woman in the Assembly, stood for secularism and inclusive national identity.
- Dakshayani Velayudhan – the first Dalit woman in the Assembly, opposed untouchability and championed Dalit rights.
- Durgabai Deshmukh – Shaped social welfare policies and women’s education.
- Hansa Jivraj Mehta – Played a key role in drafting fundamental rights.
- Rajkumari Amrit Kaur – Architect of India’s public healthcare system.
- Sarojini Naidu – Advocated civil liberties and democratic values and called the “Nightingale of India”.
- Sucheta Kripalani – Championed labor rights and governance reforms and later became India’s 1at female Chief Minister (CM).
- Vijayalakshmi Pandit – Promoted global cooperation and diplomacy.
- Constituent Assembly Debates
Bank Products Launched in India for IWD 2025:
1.On the eve of IWD 2025, Mumbai (Maharashtra)- based State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a collateral-free digital MSME (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises) loan product ‘SBI Asmita’ for women entrepreneurs, offering additional interest benefits to help them expand their business.
- SBI also launched a ‘Nari Shakti’ platinum debit card, the 1st SBI debit card made from 100% recycled plastic to cater to the needs of women across various segments.
2.Gujarat-based Bank of Baroda (BoB) launched “BoB Global Women Non-Resident Externa (NRE) & Non-Resident (Ordinary) Accounts (NRO) Savings Account,” designed exclusively for women Non-Resident Indian (NRIs). The account features:
- Auto sweep facility for higher interest earnings
- Concessional interest rates on home and auto loans
- Reduced loan processing charges
- 100% concession on locker rent
- Customised debit card with free domestic and international airport lounge access
- Free Personal and Air Accident Insurance (AAI) coverage
3.Bengaluru (Karnataka)-based PhonePe Group, India’s leading financial technology (fintech) company launched its ‘Insuring HEROES‘ campaign ahead of IWD 2025.
- This initiative aims to enhance women’s financial security and economic well-being and increase insurance awareness and accessibility for women.
Other Initiatives and Honours:
1.Chennai (Tamil Nadu)-based Star Health & Allied Insurance Company Limited (Star Health Insurance) launched ‘SheTARA,’ a large-scale women’s health initiative, offering free and accessible healthcare to women across Tamil Nadu (TN) through 40+ health camps, including a flagship event in Chennai’s Anna Nagar branch to mark IWD 2025.
- The SheTARA Women’s Health camp provides essential medical screenings and raises awareness about preventive healthcare.
2.On IWD 2025, Indian Railways(IR) introduced Chilli Spray Cans for women personnel of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) to enhance security for female passengers, particularly those traveling alone or with children.
3.The Kochi (Kerala)-based Indian Council of Agricultural Research -Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (ICAR -CMFRI) was honoured 2 women entrepreneurs, Akhilamol M A (from Kerala), and Sangeetha Sunil (from Kerala) for their achievements in the fisheries sector as part of its IWD 2025 celebrations.
Tracxn Report: Women-Led Tech Startups in India Drops 25% in 2024; India Ranked 2nd in Women-Led Startup Funding with USD 26 Billion
According to the Women-led Startups in India Report 2025 by Bengaluru (Karnataka) based Tracxn Technologies Limited, the technology (tech) startups co-led by women secured only USD 1 billion in funding in 2024, reflecting a 25% Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) decline.
- Indian tech startup ecosystem ranks 2nd after the United States of America (USA) in terms of all-time funding raised by companies with women founders, with a total capital mobilisation of USD 26.4 billion to date, with 2021 being the highest-funded year at USD 6.3 billion.
Key Statistics:
i.Over 7,000 active women-led startups operate in India, comprising 7.5% of all active startups in the country.
ii.In 2024, India ranked 3rd globally in funding raised by startups co-led women, behind the USA and the United Kingdom (UK), contributing 3.96% of the total global funding.
iii.Women-led startups in India have attracted investments across various sectors, with the retail sector leading the way:
- Retail: USD 7.8 billion (highest) in all-time funding
- Educational Technology (Ed-Tech): USD 5.4 billion
- Enterprise Applications: USD 5 billion
iv.For the regional distribution of women-led startups, Bengaluru leads in the number of women-led startups and total funding raised followed by Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) as the next top startup hubs.
About the United Nations (UN):
Secretary-General (SG)- António Guterres
Headquarters– New York, the United States of America (USA).
Established– 1945
