International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated annually around the globe on 8 March. It’s a day to recognise how far women have come in their movement for equality, peace and development. IWD 2025’s theme ‘Accelerate Action’ emphasises the urgency of advancing gender equity and addressing the biases that women face. That’s why this International Women’s Day, we remember seven inspiring women who broke through barriers and made a difference throughout history.
Emmeline Pankhurst
As one of Britain’s most accomplished political activists, Emmeline founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) and led the suffragette movement. The union fought for the right to vote in the UK using the motto ‘deeds not words’ and over 1,300 women went to prison during the process. In 1928, the Equal Franchise Act granted equal voting rights to women and men over the age of 21.
Florence Nightingale
While caring for wounded soldiers during the Crimean War in 1854, Florence Nightingale significantly reduced death rates by improving hygiene standards. She promoted hand washing and sanitisation – which continue to shape infection control procedures today. Renowned for her role in founding the modern nursing profession, she established the first secular nursing school in the world, now part of King’s College London.
Marie Stopes
An established author, palaeobotanist, academic and campaigner for women’s rights, Marie published her debut novel Married Love in 1918 and was one of the first to openly discuss birth control. She devoted her career to campaigning for women to have better access to contraception and in 1921 opened the first family planning clinic. By 1930, family planning organisations joined forces with Stopes to establish the National Birth Control Council, which later became the Family Planning Association.
Ada Lovelace
Ada is known for her writing about the Analytical Engine, as she recognised machines had wider potential than performing calculations. Although not actually completed, this was the first machine deserved to be called a computer. Her work influenced the development of modern computing concepts such as algorithms, programming languages and artificial intelligence. Ada is considered the first computer programmer and in the 1970s, the well-known programming language ADA was named after her.
Bessie Coleman
Bessie was the first African American woman to secure an international pilot’s license in 1921. Due to racial and gender biases at the time, she wasn’t allowed to become a commercial pilot. Instead, Bessie became a popular flier at aerial shows, stunt flying and barnstorming, while raising money to fund an aviation school to teach women and people of colour.
Malala Yousafzai
Malala came to public attention by writing about life under the Taliban – who wanted to ban girls’ education. She wrote about her family’s fight for girls’ education within her community; however this unfortunately made her a target and in 2012 she was shot in the head. She woke up 10 days later in England and shortly after recovery she launched the Malala Fund to help girls around the world receive an education. In 2014, she became the youngest ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala Yousafzai [Source: Simon Davis/DFID]
Marie Curie
In 1898, Marie worked alongside her husband Pierre to discover polonium and radium. The Curies’ research was crucial to the development of x-rays and during WW1, Marie drove ambulances equipped with x-ray equipment to the frontlines. Along with her husband, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and was the sole winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911.
You can learn more about International Women’s Day 2025 by visiting the official website here.
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