Monday is International Women’s Day, and the message that is being spread on Monday is “choose to challenge.”

[adguru adid=”11129″]

The day is celebrated by countries around the world annually every year on March 8, and is a global day “celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women,” as well as a call for gender parity, according to the International Women’s Day official website.

It has occurred for well over a century, with the first International Women’s Day gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. On Monday, it belongs to all groups collectively everywhere — it is not country, group, or organization specific.

The campaign theme for 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge — in which a challenged world is an alert world. The website also added that from challenge comes change.

“Individually, we’re all responsible for our own thoughts and actions — all day, every day,” according to the International Women’s Day website. “We can all choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can all choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. Collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge.”

This year, you can raise your hand high and strike the #ChooseToChallenge pose to motivate others and share on various social media platforms.

NEW BARBIE DOLL

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Barbie introduced its latest Inspiring Women Doll, honoring the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, a United Nations spokesperson, and human rights activist — Eleanor Roosevelt.

The Barbie Inspiring Women Series shows girls historical and present-day role models who paved the way for generations of girls to follow their big dreams.

“A champion of policies around civil and economic rights, Eleanor Roosevelt’s passionate advocacy was unwavering, even when faced with resistance. Earning the title ‘First Lady of the World’ for her hard work and dedication to humanitarian efforts, Eleanor Roosevelt’s perseverance redefined the role of women in politics and public life,” said Mattel in a press release introducing the doll.

[adguru adid=”11129″]

The series paid tribute earlier this year to its tenth honoree, poet, author, and activist, Dr. Maya Angelou. The dolls join Billie Jean King, Ella Fitzgerald, Florence Nightingale, Susan B. Anthony, Amelia Earhart, Katherine Johnson, Frida Kahlo, Rosa Parks, and Sally Ride.

The Eleanor Roosevelt Inspiring Women doll is now being sold at retailers nationwide.

HOW YOU CAN CELEBRATE

Staten Island had a few scheduled events to celebrate International Women’s Day.

The Pride Center of Staten Island is hosting its weekly event, The Rainbow Connection, on Tuesday at noon to 2 p.m.

The intergenerational weekly meeting is a space for LGBTQ+ youth and older adults to talk, learn, and build community together. Tuesday’s meeting will highlight International Women’s Day. For joining information, contact Zac Baber, youth services coordinator at zbaber@pridecentersi.org or call 718-808-1353.

Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden is hosting events throughout March for Women’s History. If you want to celebrate this week, it is hosting the Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative Series: Lena Richard and Julia Child: Two Women Who Changed Culinary History.

“Through their cookbooks, teaching, and television programs, these extraordinary women inspired generations of people to take cooking seriously,” according to Snug Harbor’s website. “Lena Richard and Julia Child challenged perceptions and stereotypes of women in their respective eras and made lasting contributions to culinary history. Their stories, reflective of their very different backgrounds, reveal insights about women, race, food, and culture in 20th-century America.”

The virtual event will be available on Zoom at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. It is free and registration is required.

Indeed is hosting a virtual event on Monday from 8 to 9:30 a.m. — International Women’s Day x Women at Indeed. The event is free to register. The panel will cover topics such as the impact of COVID-19 and women in the workplace, breaking the glass ceiling, and the economic gender gap.

One Art Space will present the 5th annual International Women’s Day exhibition at its location at 23 Warren Street in Manhattan. The free exhibition will be open from 1 to 6 p.m. on weekdays through Thursday.

[adguru adid=”11129″]

And if you want to honor an inspiring woman in your life, you can send hand-delivered flowers on Monday.

Sam Gregorio’s Florist can deliver locally on Staten Island on Monday, according to its website, with special arrangements for the day.

You can go to https://www.internationalwomensday.com/EventSearch for more events in New York.

March 8 marks International Women’s Day every year, a day to celebrate the achievements of women and raise awareness about gender equality. Plenty of people hopped on social media to observe the occasion, including actors and directors, from Margot Robbie to Ryan Reynolds to Taika Waititi. (Here are a host of movies and TV shows perfect to celebrate Women’s History Month.)

Below you’ll find their messages of support. Head to the International Women’s Day site for more information, including how you can donate to different causes.

– wonderful (and funny) tweets

Meet Elizabeth Nyamayaro

She’s a United Nations Senior advisor on gender equality, author and an award-winning humanitarian. Get to know Elizabeth Nyamayaro as she takes over Margot Robbie’s Instagram account for IWD. “I can’t wait for you to meet her and for her to share with us how we can all be part of creating a more gender equal world,” Robbie wrote.

A shoutout from Ryan Reynolds

“Happy International Women’s Day! Shoutout to local Women too. You’re also pretty great,” Reynolds tweeted.

Entertain your brain with the coolest news from streaming to superheroes, memes to video games.SIGN ME UP!

The best shirt ever

Taika Waititi posted a picture of a crew member with a shirt saying: “Anything you can do I can do bleeding.” The director is currently shooting Thor 4: Love and Thunder in Sydney, Australia, so we’re assuming he snapped the pic from set.

Community Channel

It might not be March 8 yet in your part of the world, but it is in Australia, and what better way to celebrate by watching some of Aussie Natalie Tran’s hilarious and relatable sketches on her Youtube channel, Community Channel.

Robert Irwin

Naturalist Terri Irwin’s son Robert Irwin tweeted a Mother’s Day-worthy post. “Thank you, Mum, for always being the biggest role model for Bindi and me and the most powerful woman I know.

The Good Place

Jameela Jamil, aka Tahani on The Good Place, interviewed Jane Fonda about social justice for IWD.

We’ll add more to this post when more social media posts roll in.

[adguru adid=”11129″]