Library Services Blog

International Women’s Day 2025: Accelerate Action.

The 8th March is International Women’s Day.

International Women's Day has an incredibly rich and global history and is celebrated around the world.

This year’s theme is Accelerate Action. 

“One of the best ways to forge gender equality is to understand what works and to do more of this, faster. Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women's advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation. Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere.” (International Women’s Day, 2025)

So let’s begin by calling out and celebrating successes!

• Hallam Students Union are running Celebrating Women: International Women's Day event with Molly Aitken. As of writing, the only tickets left are student tickets as additional ticket types have sold out! Well done to Molly and the organisers for creating such a popular event!  You can find Molly Aitkens book’s in Hallam Library: Aitken, M. (2024). Bright I burn. Canongate. and Aitken, M. (2020). The island child. Canongate.

• Chella Quint OBE: Sheffield Hallam researcher and trailblazing activist named in Shaw Trust Disability Power 100. Chella is an author, former teacher and founder of the Period Positive movement. As the movement says… ‘It’s about bloody time.’ You can find links to Chella Quint's research in Library Search here including research that looks at Unmet need for autism-aware care for gynaecological, menstrual and sexual wellbeing.

• Hallam Students Union 2024/2025 Project Workers. Chinenye Okonkwo and Iye Orok are working on anti-racist and degree awarding projects. Familiarise yourself with what Chinenye and Iye are working on by reading the priorities section of their project page.

But what does Accelerate Action mean for ourselves on a daily basis?
It means putting your hand out behind you and helping women up and bringing them alongside you! It is you and me and together we move forward a step at a time!
You can find out more by taking a look at the following resources:

• International Women’s Day #AccelerateAction
• You can take a look at the International Women's Day: Resources section to find inspiration and ideas for activities.
• Be inspired by the Inspiration women at Sheffield Hallam University section of the Hallam Library Curated Reading List: Herstory - Influential Women and Their Stories alongside women from a range of professions, research and activism.
• Odedra, K. (2019). Do something : activism for everyone. Hodder & Stoughton.