The world is celebrating International Women’s Day today on March 8 to acknowledge and pay tribute to the achievements of women across the globe – on social, economic, cultural and political fronts. The theme for International Women’s Day 2017 #IWD2017 is #BeBoldForChange – to fight for gender equality and to foster gender inclusivity in the communities.

IWD-logo-landscapejpgWhy do we need to #BeBoldForChange this #IWD2017 and beyond?

Women are one-half of the world’s population and it is self-evident that they must have equal access to health, education, earning power and political representation. However, according to the World Economic Forum through the Global Gender Gap Report 2016, an average gap of 31.7% remains to be closed worldwide across the four Index dimensions – health, education, economy and politics, and it’s predicted that we need to take another 170 years, which is until 2186, to achieve universal gender parity.

In order to create a more gender inclusive world, each one of us are urged to take bold pragmatic action to accelerate the gender parity by helping women advance and unleash their limitless potential.

Are you ready to #BeBoldForChange this #IWD2017 and beyond?

There are many ways to #BeBoldForChange. To get started, you can make your pledge on International Women’s Day official website to support the cause by telling which area will you take bold action in – from stopping gender bias and inequalitygender-based violence, to supporting women’s education as well as to forging women’s advancement and achievement – it will give you helpful ideas of how those intentions can be translated into tangible actions.

Let’s take bold action now to help drive gender equality. Happy International Women’s Day everyone!

Read also: International Women’s Day 2017: Our Top 10 Most Iconic Women Of All Time