For over a Century, women around the world have been celebrating International Women’s Day — a global movement advocating for to the rights of women, to vote, be trained, educated, hold parliment and end discrimination, injustice and ineqality once and for all.
Today, we are celebrating all the wonderful women who we collaborate with to make At the Library possible — from our incredible participants to librarians, artists, collaborators, and a team of female creative producers. They have helped us breathe warmth and thoughtfulness to our programme, and made our experience together in the library joyous and fulfilling. Thank you for the meals you have helped prepare, the table cloths you have helped stitch, the plants you have planted, the conversations you have ignited and the thoughts you have shared. We are thankful for your company and radiance and hope we can be in the same room together soon.
Although massive steps have been taken in balancing the scales between women and men since the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland back in 1911, there is still important work to be done in closing the gap between genders. We hope together in the Library (and online) we can empower women to come together to create, share knowledge and ideas, to embed care into our communities in Bootle and Crosby, collectively stepping towards that change.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #ChooseToChallenge, calling for both men and women to challenge people on their actions and thoughts to end gender bias and injustice against women across the world, to create more inclusive communities. Today, remember to thank the influential women in your life — celebrate and acknowledge their achievements, call to action for positive change to impact the lives of women, and support your local women’s charities.
We’ve been listening back over conversations with local people about special women in their lives and in our communities, highlighting their stories, determination and influence.
Bootle Women
The Humans of Bootle Library: Rita
Conversation with Lesley & Laura
You can find more information about International Women’s Day and its history here.
Here is a list of brilliant local women’s organisations you can help to support and follow: