On March 8th every year, people around the globe come together to celebrate International Women's Day, a day dedicated to honouring the achievements of women and advocating for gender equality. It's a day to reflect on the progress made towards women's rights and empowerment, as well as to acknowledge the challenges that still lie ahead.

The roots of International Women's Day can be traced back to the early 20th century when women began to organise and campaign for better working conditions, suffrage, and social equality.

However, it was a tragic event in the US in 1911 that catalysed the movement towards an international day dedicated to women. On March 25th of that year, a fire broke out at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City, claiming the lives of 146 workers, mostly young immigrant women. This devastating incident highlighted the appalling working conditions and lack of safety regulations faced by many women in the workforce.

In 1910, during the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Clara Zetkin, a German socialist and women's rights advocate, proposed the idea of establishing an annual International Women's Day. Her proposal was met with overwhelming support, and the first International Women's Day was celebrated the following year in several European countries on March 19, 1911.

Since its inception, International Women's Day has evolved into a global movement, with millions of people across continents coming together to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. For us, it is a day to celebrate all women, those who work here making a difference to the lives of our residents, and those who live here whose achievements have shaped the way we live today.

We are truly fortunate that our work allows us to spend time with these inspirational women, to learn about their lives, their experiences, and to understand how their past has influenced our future.

Our female residents have lived very different lives to those of our team; some of them remember a childhood overshadowed by war, they have seen the world change beyond recognition, they have experienced a time in which woman’s rights were limited. Did you know that it wasn’t until 1975 that a woman could open her own bank account without her husband cosigning the application, and it wasn’t until 1982 that a woman could no longer be refused entry to a pub based on her gender. 1982!

Throughout the first week of March, we shall be celebrating women, celebrating their lives, acknowledging their achievements, and enjoying their unique stories.