International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March each year. This global day connects women around the world and aims to inspire them to achieve their full potential. The day celebrates the collective power of women past, present and future.
The 2019 the theme is Balance for Better
This year we are spoilt for choice with two celebratory events in Christchurch:
Global Women in partnership with PwC
In the evening of Thursday, 7 March listen to a diverse range of women, part of a nationwide speaker series. The Christchurch event is at the Christchurch Art Gallery - Te Puna o Waiwhetū and you can even pay it forward and donate a ticket to enable young women to attend this event. Speakers include Ranjna Patel – Founder and Director, Nirvana Health Group, Chelsea Herbert – Champion NZ racing driver, Sue Suckling – Independent Director and Future Strategist and Jessie Chan-Dorman – Independent Director and former Dairy Woman of the Year.
Read up on Ranjna Patel, Chelsea Herbert, Sue Suckling and Jessie Chan-Dorman before you go.
UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand
On Friday 8 March hear from Rachel Froggatt CEO Women in Sport Aotearoa with UN Women Aotearoa New Zealand while breakfasting at the Elms. Proceeds support Fijian women through the UN Women (Global) Markets for Change project.
If you can't make the event you can still hear about Froggatt's aims in her Morning Report interview. She discusses how she intends to halt the drift of women out of sport and comments on the launch of the Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation Government Strategy.
She's also written an interesting opinion piece, "It's time to say 'non' to abuse and sexism in sport".
Library resources about Women
Visit our International Women's Day page
These subject headings link to titles about the history of women and their rights:
- Women — history
- Women — periodicals
- Feminism and feminists
- Women in sports
- Women in business
- Sex discrimination against women
- Women in popular culture
- Women — social conditions
- Books that cut to the heart of being a woman. A Staff Pickles list.
Christchurch City Libraries also has copies of magazines such as Ms. For more women’s studies and feminist magazines, search Feminism — periodicals.
Images of Women
Find historic images of women in our digital collections.
eResources
Contemporary Women’s Issues
This resource offers full-text articles that bring together content from mainstream magazines, “grey” literature, and the alternative press — with a focus on the critical issues and events that influence women’s lives in more than 190 countries.
Opposing Viewpoints in Context
This resource offers full-text articles from many perspectives on major contentious social, political, and technological issues. Some topics that particularly affect women are the gender gap, women’s health, and women’s rights.
Women’s societies and clubs
Local groups for women listed on our community information directory CINCH.
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