The 8th of March is International Women’s Day that grew out of the labour movement to become a recognised annual event by the United Nations. The seeds of it were planted in 1908, when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter working hours, better pay and the right to vote. The idea to make the day international came from a woman called Clara Zetkin. She suggested the idea in 1910 at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. There were 100 women there, from 17 countries, and they agreed on her proposal unanimously. It was first celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland and in 1975 the United Nations started celebrating the day officially.

International Women’s Day has become a date to celebrate how far women have come in society, in politics and in economics. Please join Old Portena as we celebrate this day by honoring our Director General, Pauline Nord, and thanking her for building an excellent school community and helping our students achieve outstanding academic results by inspiring them with her hard work and dedication, to becoming the world’s future leaders.