To Top
Lifestyle

The True Meaning of International Women’s Day

Why You Should Be Buying Mimosas this March 8th

March 8th marks International Women’s Day – a day that in Italy is often used as an opportunity for men to celebrate the women in their lives – a kind of appendix to St Valentine’s Day. For that reason, International Women’s Day can be seen in a cynical light as just another marketing exercise. However, the true meaning of International Women’s Day could not be further from this. We take a look a quick look at why you should celebrate International Women’s Day this 2017.

Prior to 1946, European countries celebrated Women’s Day on different days, but eventually a consensus was reached to celebrate on March 8th as it commemorated the Russian women’s ‘Bread and Peace’ strike in 1917 and before that, the ‘Women’s Garment Strike’ in 1857, which gave rise to the US’s first women’s union.

International Women’s Day was initially marked in Italy by the giving a sprig or a bouquet of mimosa to a special woman in your life. The mimosa plant was introduced from Australia in 1820, and because it is a relatively fast-growing shrub, it made for a gorgeous, fragrant and inexpensive symbol of love, resilience and growth in post-war Italy. These days, men and women still gift mimosa, but usually with some more extravagant flowers to really show their appreciation and love.

Bloovery

But March 8 is not just a day to celebrate the special women in your lives – wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters – but a day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements women have spearheaded to enjoy the comforts they currently do. While it is true that women worldwide have made huge progress since then, there is still so much work to be done.

In 2016, Italy ranked 50 out 144 on the World Economic Forum for gender equality. While this may seem like progress from the country’s ranking in 2006 of 77 given the huge improvements that have occurred in women’s health, education and political empowerment, the country has actually made a significant step backwards in women’s economic participation and opportunity. Italy ranked 87 in the world for economic participation and opportunity in 2006, but in 2016 fell all the way down to 117. For wage equality for similar work, Italy ranks an abysmal 127 out of 144.*

If you are a woman in Italy, chances are you or a friend of yours is experiencing some form of discrimination in the workplace. Moreover it is almost certain they are getting paid less for the same work as their male counterparts.

So this March 8th, remember to send that special someone in your life a bouquet of mimosa to not only let them know you love them, but more importantly that you respect them and that you realize there is still so much work yet to do.

 

* Statistics are from the World Economic Forum

We can't. That's why every week we share the best experiences milan has to offer.

You may be also interested in...

5 quick and chic gifts for every girl

Per leggere questo articolo in italiano, cliccare qui. What is the season of gifts? Christmas? Wrong. When you have a girlfriend you love, the gift season lasts all year. And everyone knows that a happy couple exchanges gifts more or less continuously. it's obvious that every gift shouldn't be an object that lasts a lifetime, reserve those for birthdays [...]

Say you’re sorry with the perfect date

Per leggere l'articolo in italiano, cliccare qui. It's happened, let's be honest, you made a mistake and now your girl is mad at you. It may be for a good reason or for no reason at all but one thing is sure: apologies are in order. It's necessary to always show a woman that you [...]

5 Ideas for How to Spend March 8 with Your Girls

Stuck for ideas of how to spend Women's Day 2017? Here are five ideas for spending quality time with your friends that don't involve a greasy male stripper gyrating in front of you. Manet Exhibition at the Palazzo Reale Kicking off today is the eagerly awaited Manet exhibition - 'Manet and Modern Paris' at the [...]

Bloovery – Sending flowers has never been easier

Let's face it: in these times of crazy races, social meetings and technological civilization we look more at screens than we do at human faces. One Whatsapp message at the time, distance communication is increasingly flat and generic. Yet we still have things to say, we only need the right means to say it. And [...]

Bombarded daily by information of all kinds, transmitted by an ever-increasing number of communication tools, we sometimes look for a simplification, a reliable source, a guide. Flawless Milano was born from this need, and tells the best experiences to have in Milan with style, precision and personality.

Copyright © 2024 Flawless Living s.r.l. - Via Copernico 8 - 20125 Milano - PI 08675550969