The Best International Women’s Day Events To Go To In The UK In 2023
For more than a century, individuals around the world have been celebrating all things women and our role in society on International Women’s Day (IWD).
IWD, which this year takes place on March 8, was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, before the United Nations made it an official day in 1975, and launched its first theme in 1996: ‘Celebrating the Past, Planning for the Future.’
Last year’s theme was ‘Break the Bias’, which encouraged individuals to focus on three key objectives: Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.
This year, the United Nation’s theme for 2023 is ‘DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality’, which aims to celebrate the achievements women have made in technology and education in the digital space. The theme complements the priority theme for the 67th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW-67): Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
Another theme, as announced on the International Women’s Day website, is #EmbraceEquity, which seeks to ‘challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion’.
From championing women’s equality with issues related to sex, to engaging in panel discussions with empowering female thought-leaders, there’s a host of events in the UK sign up to for 2023’s IWD.
Amid a difficult year for women’s rights, with the overturning of Roe V. Wade in the United States and the women of Iran taking to the streets to protest the country’s ‘morality police’, now is the perfect time to uplift and advocate for each other, and commemorate our achievements thus far, while seeking and building new ones.
Here’s a list of the best ways to mark International Women’s Day 2023:
March 8: Annabel’s International Women’s Day Brunch, London
London’s Annabel’s and The Caring Family Foundation is hosting its annual International Women’s Day Brunch in The Garden at Annabel’s this year. Join host and award-winning journalist Yomi Adegoke and a panel of powerful speakers in a discussion about Equity, this year’s theme. Panel speakers include ELLE UK’s Editor-In-Chief Kenya Hunt, skincare range founder Dr. Barbara Sturm, and the CEO of Refuge UK Ruth Davidson, plus a live performance by Birdy.
Find out more here.
March 8: Women: Witches and Wenches, London
Inspired by their exhibition Executions, the Museum of London are putting on a talk on International Women’s Day with guest speakers Maria Beadell, Vanessa King and Dr Alice Tarbuck. The trip will take the audience on a journey through the history of witchcraft and the punishments that accused women faced. If you can’t join in person, there’s also a livestream ticket option available to purchase.
Find out more here.
Until March 25: Top Girls at Liverpool Everyman, Liverpool
To commemorate the 40th anniversary production of Caryl Chuchill’s Top Girls, Liverpool Everyman Creative Director Suba Das will lead a women and non-binary team in a reimagined performance of the iconic British show that has been selected as one of The Stage’s must-see shows to see across the UK in 2023. Now, set amid a backdrop of national strikes, protests, and a rich period of music and fashion, Top Girls is just as powerful as it was 40 years ago.
Find out more here.
Mar 1- 31: Hot Girl Walk United, Nationwide
Fitness app Strava has launched a new global challenge in partnership with the Hot Girl Walk™ movement from TikTok that went viral in 2020, with the hashtag since amassing over 642 million views. Aiming to encourage women to spend more time on fitness, for every challenge completed on their app, Strava will donate up to £200,000 to Women Win, a charity which empowers women through sport.
March 10 – 12: Women of the World (WOW) Festival
Commemorating women, girls and non-binary individuals, this festival (led by founder Jude Kelly) has paved the way for influential performers, activists and voices, including Marian Keyes, Patrisse Cullors, Bernadine Evaristo, Elizabeth Day, Pandora Sykes, Candice Braithwaite, Bridget Christie, Natalie Haynes, Lisa Taddeo and Deborah Frances-White.
Taking place across three days (Friday to Sunday) the line-up includes exciting discussions, workshops, performances, and more. Listen to a sex positive talk with sexpert Oloni, participate in family friendly interactive events, check out a marketplace packed with women and non-binary led small businesses, and listen to music from the likes of Sacha T, Martha D Lewis, Miss Baby Sol and Emily Saunders. There really is something for everyone.
Find out more here.
March 8, 9 and 11: Working Women of the East End Walking Tour, London
Embark on a 2.5 hour tour of London’s East End, learning about influential feminists from Mary Wollstonecraft, Sylvia Pankhurst to Eleanor Marx and the rich history of different women’s stories in the area. With an aim to change how the East End is seen, such as the traditional focus on the victims of Jack the Ripper rather than his crimes, this walk puts women’s stories back on the map. You’ll leave seeing the Capital in a whole new way.
Find out more here.
March 8: Clit Fest by Sex Talks At The London EDITION, London
The London EDITION is teaming up with Emma Louise Boynton for a special edition of Sex Talks called Clit Fest, marking London’s first literary festival focused on championing the writers, authors and poets and their work that explores feminism, sex and pleasure. Expect a panel discussion of medical misogyny with journalists Sarah Graham and Sophia Smith Galer, live poetry from Monika Radojevic, a talk about love with love coach Vicki Pavitt and author Alya Mooro, as well as a thorough analysis on the future of sex with author of Sex Robots and Vegan Meat, Jenny Kleeman. Guests will also be given a complimentary drink and a goodie bag.
Find out more here.
March 29: Women’s Only Life Drawing, Durham
The Oriental Museum in Durham is putting on a free (yes, free!) life drawing class in celebration of International Women’s Day, for everyone who identifies as a woman, whether you’re new to art or more experienced. In this workshop, attendees will focus on women artists such as Faye Pomerance, Marina Abramovic, Elisabeth Frink and Paula Rego, and respond to their styles in their own pieces.
Find out more here.
March 8: Make Your Own Miniature Georgian Armchair, London
An event truly unlike any other. Elizabeth Joseph, resident miniaturist for The Museum of the Home, is hosting a workshop teaching participants how to make a miniature Georgian Armchair. Joseph founded the Black Girl Dollhouse Club during lockdown, which aims to move the world of doll house appreciation away from the classic Victorian aesthetic, and instead embrace details that pay homage to each person’s heritage.
Get inspired by her knowledge and creative process while learning techniques to take away and embark on your own miniature adventure. You will use African Wax Print fabric and a miniature fabric print of a painting by Sue Kreitzman, with the artist herself giving a talk about her painting ‘Warrior Mermaid’ and her fight for women’s rights.
Find out more here.
February 28 – March 25: UNLADYLIKE, London
This group exhibition at D Contemporary challenges stereotypes, with portraits from Abigail Norris, Celia Mora, Sadie Lee and Elizabeth Dimitroff that explores female representation across art through the lens of sexuality, gender and ageing. The show aims to set new expectations for an empowered world.
Find out more here.
March 8: International Women’s Day with Rough Trade Books and Friends, London
Foyles and Rough Trade Books have partnered to put on an event celebrating International Women’s Day, which will be jam packed with performances from feminist writers. Listen to poetry from Sharan Hunjan and Sunnah Khan, who wrote 4 Brown Girls Who Write, experience a reading from Ella Frears’ musical collection, I Am The Mother Cat, take a deep dive into the history of contemporary dance with authors Emma Warren (Dance Your Way Home) and Anna Wood (Yes Yes More More), and hear from Salena Godden, the poet who wrote the collection Pessimism Is For Lightweights, and end the night with a book signing.
Find out more here.
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