We can do it!... Can’t we?

This year’s campaign

In a bid to speed up the global pace of achieving gender equality, this year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is ‘Accelerate Action’. 

Part of the campaign is encouraging individuals to step forward in solidarity and ‘strike the Accelerate Action pose’ to fight harder for equal gender rights. Raising an arm and striking a pose seems like a ripe opportunity for a LinkedIn post but with the world not set to achieve full gender parity for another 130 years, is enough being done to achieve progress? And how can we accelerate action now?

Where is gender equality sitting in 2025?

Moving at the current rate of progress, according to the World Economic Forum, it will take until 2158 to reach full gender parity, and at least 40 years to achieve gender equality in national parliaments. Alarmingly slow prospects for something so long overdue. 

Of course, in recent decades, the world has seen a great number of encouraging steps towards bettering rights and opportunities for women. As a result, we’ve seen historic achievements – from progress in parliament, with the highest ever number of female MPs elected in the UK, to the stage, with a record number of women receiving Oscar nominations in 2024. We’ve also seen progress in other critical areas: in 2023 the gender gap closed by over 90% in the UK in health and education industries, and reports in 2024 revealed that 50 million more girls were enrolled in school globally since 2015. 

Despite these positive shifts, gender biases impacting access to justice; educational and employment opportunities; medical misogyny; child mortality; and violence against women are still derailing women’s agency. Moreover, while in the past global events, such as the World Wars, have helped accelerate change, recent global events have caused significant setbacks for the movement. Even the COVID-19 pandemic had a disproportionate impact on women, with increases in violence against women and loss of employment. 

While campaigns for gender equality are often evident in the media and the workplace, the difficulties faced by women remain persistent. There is no doubt that many of the barriers in place have lowered over time, but with over a century to go until full gender parity will be achieved, a fresh sense of urgency to accelerate action is essential. 

Action accelerated by ‘Rosie the Riveter’

The media’s influence is immeasurable, with celebrities and activists regularly sharing information and using their following to promote action. However, feminist messaging is not a modern phenomenon. The famous ‘Rosie the Riveter’ poster of WWII saw ‘Rosie’ hailed as a feminist icon, with the housewife-turned-work(wo)man image used to pull women into factories and shipyards to assist with the war effort. 

On the face of it, the poster, and the encouragement of women into the workplace that it represented, helped to accelerate change much faster than had been seen for centuries. In the UK, 90% of single women and 80% of married women were working in the war effort by mid-1943. With her rolled-up sleeves, red lippy, and chic work overalls, Rosie was an inspiring figure, leading women into what was previously almost exclusively the men’s workforce.

As a then housewife-turned-war-hero, Rosie was a great narrative for any aspiring feminist, with her famous slogan ‘We Can Do It’ forming a symbol of unity and striving to accelerate action. However, the tides would turn once again as the post-war landscape worldwide reverted to pre-war trends. Men returned to factories and women returned home. Ultimately, we must consider whether the image was originally merely marketing strategy crafted by the government (and designed by men) to lure women into bolstering their depleting workforces and filling a desperate labour gap, rather than as a means of female empowerment. 

Nevertheless, countless women since have used the image (and impeccable style) to bring attention to gender inequality. It is an image that has proven timeless from politics to pop culture, with stars like Pink and Beyonce recreating the pose. Are we still able to accelerate action by coming together and joining forces in the fight against inequality? 

It is clear that gender disparity is a real and rising issue that needs to be solved. And quickly. While there are positive steps being made, there is still a need to accelerate action to tackle the prevailing issues. Despite decades of effort, campaigns, and action, inequality remains entrenched in society. 

The IWD campaigns are in fact older than ‘Rosie the Riveter’. They have been around for over a hundred years in a bid to tackle the issues still impacting women’s advancement and the IWD 2025 campaign is as relevant as ever, as it attempts to reignite the momentum towards change on societal, economic, and political levels. 

Can we do it?

If Rosie can flex her muscle, raise an eyebrow, and spark a movement for greater gender equality, can’t we?

Of course, women in 2025 are not facing the same inequalities as Rosie was in 1943, but many of the same challenges remain. In 2024, the Scottish Government reported that 87.1% of men were in full-time employment, compared to 61.4% of women. In the same year, it was reported that women held less than one-quarter of the world’s board seats, with gender parity not set to be achieved in the board room until 2038 unless greater action is taken.

Last year’s IWD campaign saw a push towards inspiring inclusion by listening more, changing our behaviours, and challenging our unconscious biases. This year’s campaign is an urgent call for change that can no longer wait. The campaign emphasises that as individuals, we can all take steps in our daily routines to positively impact women’s advancement. It is a call to empower those already working towards gender justice and an appeal to those who are passive. 

We are hopeful that we might strike the same pose in the future as a symbol of women’s equality, and not in a bid to action change. Significant barriers to gender equality remain, but with the right action and support, we can make positive progress for women everywhere… we can do it! 

Register for Shepherd and Wedderburn’s International Women’s Day 2025 free webinar on Thursday 6 March to hear our panel of speakers exploring the Accelerate Action theme, and sharing their diverse insights and experiences from across the legal, medical, and third sector.