8. March – International Women's Day

A contribution by Prof. Dr. Vera Kozjak-Pavlovic, Department of Microbiology, Julius-Maximilians-University Of Würzburg.

In this post, I share my personal experience and my opinion about International Women's Day, as well as some historical facts.

8th of March, as I remember it

The 8th of March was a big holiday where I grew up – we would prepare greeting cards for our mothers and grandmothers, men would buy carnations and small presents for their wives and female coworkers, and, most importantly, we would get a day off from school. It was International Women’s Day, a time to celebrate women’s achievements and their role in society, a moment to remind everyone that women had the same rights as men, that they were equally competent, equally capable, and equally valuable. I was too young then to understand why people needed to be reminded of such an obvious fact, but I do remember men making jokes about it and women wondering out loud, when no man heard them, why it was that they got only one day in the year when they didn’t have to cook or clean, and men got the remaining 364.

When I came to Germany, I realized that the 8th of March was not that important, at least not in the former West Germany. The day seemed to have been tainted by its association with communism and socialism, and people much rather celebrated Mother’s Day (a holiday introduced from the United States at about the same time as International Women’s Day, with an interesting, though somewhat notorious history of its own in Germany).

The historical background of International Women's Day

Indeed, International Women's Day, celebrated annually on March 8, started as a socialist holiday. It was proposed by, Clara Zetkin, a German socialist, in 1910 at the International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen. She was inspired by a similar event organized in 1909 by the Socialist Party of America at the proposal of Theresa Malkiel. The first celebration of International Women’s Day took place on 19th March 1911 – across Europe, women demanded the right to vote, hold public office, and receive equal treatment at work like men.

Then Vladimir Lenin declared 8th March as International Women's Day in 1922 to honor the role of women in the Russian Revolution, sealing its fate as a communist holiday. However, in 70-ties and 80-ties, International Women’s Day was picked up by the feminist movement and was formally recognized by the United Nations in 1975, which resulted in its annual commemoration by the UN and much of the world. Accordingly, each year's observance centers on a particular theme or issue in the area of women's rights – and unfortunately, we are not running out of those themes or issues any time soon.

So, why is it then that International Women’s Day still passes relatively unnoticed in Germany, with the exception of Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, which have introduced it as a public holiday in 2019 and 2023, respectively? Is it more important to celebrate women as mothers than women as… everything else? Or is this a consequence of a different approach to women’s roles and women’s rights in West and East Germany, in capitalism and communism?

Women's rights in comparison between West and East Germany

The Numbers tell the following story:in 1988, 78.1 % of East German women were in the labor force (91.2 % if counting women still involved in education), compared to 55 % in the West. This was brought upon by a series of laws that stimulated women to acquire education and jobs. For example, while women in East Germany could enter the workforce independently of their husbands’ consent already after 1950, in West Germany the necessary legislation changed only 27 years later, on the 1st of July, 1977. Married women in West Germany were also limited in managing their own finances by the law that prevented them from opening a bank account without their husband’s formal permission, and which changed only in 1962.

East Germany likewise provided extensive, largely free childcare,including full-time slots and 40 days of paid leave for sick children. West Germany lacked sufficient full-time childcare, hindering mothers' ability to work – something that is common to this day and that I experienced myself when I became a mother and wanted to continue working full-time in research.

After World War II, East Germany initiated educational reforms that ensured equal access to universities, and by 1989, the percentage of female students reached 48.6 %. Interestingly, historical data and regional analysis typically show that Eastern German universities often have a higher proportion of female professors compared to Western German universities. At the University of Würzburg, where I am currently situated, approximately 29 % of professors are women. Free University in Berlin has this number at 40 %.

Some solutions do not eliminate all the problems

It seems, therefore, that communism emphasized the role of women outside the home and family, which is in part reflected by the importance of the 8th of March in the current and former communist countries. However, although supporting women independence and providing them with an access to education and job market is certainly a step in the right direction, the underlying societal and cultural issues were never really addressed neither in capitalistic, democratic societies, nor in the communism.

Growing up in communist Yugoslavia, I did not have the impression that gender equality was an issue. Most of my university professors were female, and women in general were expected to get educated and work. Men and women were equal, at least at the first glance. In reality, women were still burdened with domestic and care work and held little political power. Men, on the other hand, bought carnations for the 8th of March, and thought this solved all the problems.

Final thoughts

Therefore, whether Mother’s or International Women’s Day, my feelings about holidays celebrating women are complicated. What is the purpose of celebrating women on one day, while disregarding gender inequality on all other days? Nevertheless, I believe in the importance of such a holiday. I also believe it is time to separate International Women’s Day from its socialist past and focus on its true meaning.

The 8th of March is one day in the year that we should use to recognize women's achievements and to remind the world that the struggle is not over yet. Even though much progress has been made since that first celebration in 1911, women’s rights are currently facing a severe, accelerating global backlash. That is why it is more important than ever to have a special day that will draw attention to all the issues that affect women and to call for action to solve them.

The theme of the International Women's Day in 2026 is "Give To Gain", which faithfully reflects the goals of Infect Net, as a platform for sharing knowledge, providing support and encouragement, and celebrating the successes of women in infection research. With the hope that it will continue to be so, I wish you all a happy International Women’s Day.