International Women’s Day for Kids: What to Teach Them and How to Celebrate

In a few days, on the 8th of March, we’ll celebrate International Women’s Day. In some countries, this day is proclaimed as a public holiday, meaning a day off work and school. And, as with every other holiday in our country, children will wonder what exactly is International Women’s Day and how it’s connected with buying flowers for mothers and teachers. If teachers and parents don’t make a unit and explain International Women’s Day to kids, they’ll draw their own conclusions, which means missing out on the true meaning behind the holiday. 

Leaving kids with questions is never a good idea. It’s like robbing them of an opportunity to be even more compassionate and driven toward achieving their goals, as finding out how the world works is a motivation for many. Plus, helping children of all ages and finding inspiration in the stories of the women who overcame obstacles and succeeded is part of what education aims toward. But, how do we teach kids about International Women’s Day and what should we include? 

It’s true that the history and meaning of International Women’s Day is a complex and more or less controversial story, which is why we’re here to help! Together with our facts and worksheet bundles, we’ll go over the most important topics and see how to present them in a kid-friendly way. We’ll also include some fun and meaningful activities for celebrating International Women’s Day with kids after all that studying. 

Teaching Kids About International Women’s Day

On our website, you can find information and worksheet packs, beneficial for both teachers and homeschooling parents. We’ve covered topics like International Women’s Day, Women’s History Month, Women’s Equality Day (which is not the same as International Women’s Day), and collected hundreds of worksheets on some of the most inspirational women through history. 

We highly recommend that you check out these resources that complement this article in a brilliant way, giving you the full picture of how a lecture about the upcoming International Women’s Day should look like. We promise lots of fun, useful information, and a positive attitude toward breaking the stereotypes that might hold kids (not just girls) back from achieving their full potential and – first and foremost – be happy. 

International Women’s Day is more than a holiday. It honors a movement that was able to change our society for the better, which was not an easy goal. This is important for kids to know, as there are still many things that cry for a change. In such a dynamic society, it’s beneficial for the kids’ cognitive and emotional development to be prepared for the things they’ll experience on a daily basis. 

All in all, teaching International Women’s Day for kids is a wonderful opportunity to build resilience, compassion, awareness, and tolerance of our diverse nature. 

So, what to Include?

There are four main categories in which you can divide the topic, and this is more or less a good framework for all social events.

• Context 
• History
• Important Figures
• Today’s Issues

The first step is to give kids context, answering questions like: 

• What is International Women’s Day?
• Why do we celebrate International Women’s Day?
• Why do women need a special day?
• Is there an International Men’s Day? Why not? 
• Why do we give flowers to women on International Women’s Day? 

After the kids get a general idea of what this holiday is about, you should start from the very beginning and talk about history like an interesting story. Include the situation before the movement, how women were perceived, the will for change, the gradual and ongoing change that slowly spread throughout the world, and the results. 

While you’re telling the story about International Women’s Day, make sure to highlight some of the most important women that were crucial in organizing and motivating women to take part and fight for labor and voting rights. Including some personal information about these women is always fun and brings the whole movement closer and more relatable to kids. Plus, they might be inspired and motivated to work harder on their goals when they see how others have done the same. 

Finally, before ending the lecture, reflect on our society today. How did this movement change the world we live in and what are the things we should work to improve? If you teach children in middle school or high school, you can organize a debate on how our world would look like if women didn’t fight for their rights back in the early 1900s. For children in elementary school, you can end the lecture with some take-home messages. 

In the following sections of this article, we’ll explore these categories in greater detail illustrating some of the most important information about International Women’s Day for kids. So, keep reading!

The Significance of International Women’s Day 

Kids should know that International Women’s Day is not simply a day where we show our love and appreciation to our mothers, grandmothers, teachers, and other women. It’s much more than that! 

Raising awareness about what this holiday truly represents comes with knowledge, giving meaning to the appreciation kids show to the women in their life. 

Teach kids that International Women’s Day is observed annually on the 8th of March all around the world. The holiday celebrates women’s professional achievements and contributions to society. People began honoring this day in the early 1900s with the first official International Women’s Day being officially held in 1911 as a response to the successful movement that gave women the right to vote and more working rights. 

Does this mean that women couldn’t vote or participate in politics until then? Yes, but this was not a sudden change. It happened gradually and slowly all over the world. Some countries responded faster than others. In America, women got the right to vote on August 18th, 1920.  However, the first Woman’s Day (before it became international) was designated in 1908 by The Socialist Party of America after the successful protest against women’s working conditions. 

Since the early 1900s were very dynamic with a lot of changes in both the political and economic scene, we celebrate International Women’s Day as a holiday that reminds us of the struggles women faced while they fought for the right to vote and have better working conditions. 

That’s why it’s important for kids to know that International Women’s Day stands for women’s right to an education, professional career, equal working rights, and active participation in society. Knowing this, it becomes very clear why we would honor famous women throughout history. Many of them did not have the right to work, or even study, but they still followed their dream and made considerable contributions to society. 

The History of International Women’s Day for Kids

What became known today as International Women’s Day started out as a labor movement that had its most significant gathering in 1908 in New York when 15,000 women marched through the streets demanding shorter working hours, better pay, and a right to vote.

Kids will most likely wonder why women couldn’t vote or were treated worse than men. For someone who’s born no more than 10 or 15 years ago, it might be hard to imagine a world so drastically different. To kids, the story about women staying at home and taking care of the family, while the men go to work and provide might seem fictitious. This is completely understandable. 

Without going into too much detail, tell kids that a long time ago our society was organized very differently. Men went to work, while women took care of the house and kids because people back then didn’t have the life conditions we have today. And, this went on for so long, that it became a tradition and a way of life. 

However, when women said they wanted to study too, work alongside men, and make decisions about how our society should look, some powerful men didn’t like it. This was the reason why women organized themselves and protested on the streets demanding better work conditions and the right to vote. 

One year after the protest in 1908 in New York the Socialist Party of America declared the first National Woman’s Day. But, women did not have the right to vote or even work in many countries around the world, not just America. So, wanting to make the whole world a better place, Clara Zetkin suggested the idea of an international holiday at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen. 

All the women voted unanimously for this suggestion and the first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland.

The United Nations began celebrating the holiday 64 years later, in 1975, making things official, even though 1911 is considered to be the first birthday of the holiday. This year, we celebrate the 110th International Women’s Day.

Each year, the United Nations assigns a theme that’s meant to represent that year’s focus on current challenges in reaching gender equality. This year the theme is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” Follow the link to find out more about this year’s focus and how you and your kids or students can contribute to that goal. 

The Brave Women Who Raised Their Voice

Of course, without the women who initiated and organized the movement, who first raised their voice and sacrificed their life, our society would have been very different today. These women deserve to be celebrated and known, so who were they? 

First, briefly explain the term suffragette to kids as it was the Suffragette organization founded in 1903 that aggressively fought for women’s right to vote. The suffragettes were members of an organization based in Britain. While in some countries like New Zealand women got the right to vote, Britain, America, and many others were falling behind. News outlets led a campaign against the women who rebelled, portraying them as hysterical or insane. They were even imprisoned and force-fed. It was not an easy change, but thanks to the brave women who led the organizations and protests and didn’t give up, more and more countries saw the need for a change. 

Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906) was one of the pioneers of the Women’s Rights Movement, and she’s one of the most famous names among the women’s rights activists through history. She was independent and outspoken, believing that women need the right to vote so they can make sure the government has their interests in mind too, and not just men’s needs. 

Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) was the first president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), while Anthony was the second. Stanton was just as fierce and outspoken as Anthony and together they left a legacy that still lives on today. They never got the right to vote in their lifetime, but their efforts gave that right to women all around the world, just a couple of years after their death. 

Alice Paul (1885-1977) was one of the main leaders and strategists whose campaigns eventually ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving women the right to vote. She was a member of Emmeline Pankhurst’s radical organization where she learned to use civil disobedience as a way to draw attention to her cause. She was one of the women who were imprisoned. They protested the unfair treatment with a hunger strike, and the officials force-fed them for two weeks. 

There are many other names that deserve to be mentioned, which is why we recommend you to check out our Inspirational Women Through History section, as we can’t include all of them here. 

Where Do We Stand Today?

Knowing the past teaches us many lessons, but children’s education should go beyond that. An amazing way to raise awareness, develop empathy and compassion, as well as improve children’s critical thinking skills is to discuss the present. 

You can achieve this by organizing a debate or giving kids information about some of the problems that we currently face, and together discuss what we can do to solve these problems in the future. Of course, we can’t expect children to have solutions to such systematic issues in our society, but as a teacher or a parent, you can encourage your children or students to think about how their actions can make the world a better place for both men and women. 

So, what are the current issues regarding gender equality? 

Here are some interesting facts: 

• Women are 47% more likely to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men. (New York Times, study 2011)
• 33,000 girls become child brides every day. (Girls Not Brides)
• Only six countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Sweden) in the world give women the same work rights as men. (The World Bank)

How to Celebrate International Women’s Day With Kids? 

As we’ve seen, there’s so much ground to cover when it comes to learning about the significance and history of this holiday. And while the theory is really important, it should be just one part of the lecture. The other part is, of course, learning through play and other practical activities. After all, celebrating a holiday should include some fun activities. 

So, what can you do for this International Women’s Day? Well, you could watch some movies, inspiring Ted Talks, visit online museums and participate in exhibits. Actually, there’s so much more you can do, which is why we dedicated a whole article just about that! If you want to include practical activities, please, check out our “International Women’s Day Activities for Students,” or the “Women’s History Month for Kids: Activities, Spreadsheets, and More!” articles. 

Before You Leave

Hopefully, you liked our guide on how to create an amazing lesson plan on International Women’s Day for Kids. We made sure to include a lot of specific information which you can utilize in the classroom or a homeschool setting. Additionally, we also included a lot of resources and linked them, so you can easily follow them and find everything that you need. 

Kids deserve to know how our society evolved throughout the years, which tells us that we’re not perfect. We should always be considerate and allow changes to come so that more people can get the rights they deserve. 

In case you need more help delivering the message, please don’t hesitate to browse through our worksheet collection, as we’re sure you can find everything that you’re looking for. 

Also, let us remind you that we regularly update our blog with new insightful information! Subscribe to our newsletter and stay on top of the latest trends and findings regarding children’s education.