Accelerating Action for Gender Equality: A Call for Change on International Women’s Day 2025

Publication date: March 4, 2025

Each year on 8 March, the world comes together to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), an important occasion to recognise the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. IWD is also a time to reflect on the progress still needed to achieve true gender equality. First celebrated in 1911, IWD has grown into a global movement that inspires millions to take action for women’s rights and empowerment.

This year’s campaign theme is ‘Accelerate Action’, urging us to speed up efforts to achieve gender parity. According to the World Economic Forum, it could take until 2158, five generations from now, to reach full gender equality at the current pace of change. This sobering statistic highlights the need for urgent and decisive action to break down systemic barriers and biases that continue to hold women back.

Together, we can help to #AccelerateAction and drive the change needed for a fairer, more inclusive world.

Girls in Digital Week: Accelerating Action in Technology and STEM

Aligned with the IWD theme, Girls in Digital Week (taking place from 24-28 March 2025) is an initiative focused on empowering girls to explore and thrive in the world of technology and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). While gender gaps persist across many industries, the digital and STEM fields are particularly affected, with women underrepresented at both educational and professional levels.

Girls in Digital Week aims to Accelerate Action by:

• Creating safe and inspiring spaces where girls can engage in coding, technology, and other digital activities.
• Showcasing female role models who are breaking barriers in STEM and encouraging others to follow in their footsteps.
• Providing hands-on learning experiences through workshops and coding challenges that build both confidence and technical skills.
• Fostering collaboration and mentorship to ensure that girls have the support they need to pursue their passions in digital innovation.

By accelerating efforts to engage more girls in STEM, this initiative helps address the gender gap at its roots, creating opportunities that will benefit future generations.

How You Can Get Involved

Whether you are an educator, a company, an NGO, or an individual passionate about gender equality, there are many ways to take part in Girls in Digital Week and support the Accelerate Action movement:

• Organise an event: Host a coding workshop, seminar, or activity to inspire young people and register your event on the EU Code Week website.
• Collaborate with us: Partner with our network to promote digital and STEM opportunities to a wider audience.
• Spread the word: Share stories of female innovators, campaign messages, and success stories on social media using the hashtags #GirlsInDigital, #AccelerateAction, and #EUCodeWeek.
• Mentor and support: Reach out to local coding clubs, schools, or community groups to offer mentorship and guidance to girls interested in digital careers.

Together, we can Accelerate Action for gender equality, both on International Women’s Day and beyond. Let’s make sure that young girls today have the opportunity to become tomorrow’s digital leaders.