Women were working in factories, earning wages alongside the men, but they still faced lower pay for the same work and widespread, open discrimination. Nor could they, disenfranchised, do much about it. Noting this oppression the Communist parties in Europe and the United States stepped up to call attention to the unfairness faced by women every day. The first of the International Women’s Days was celebrated in the U.S., in solidarity with the striking garment workers in New York. Two years past, an official annual event was organized.

On this day, February 8, in 1965 the Communist Party of Russia declared March 8, already a working holiday over Russia, a day of rest and a celebration of women worldwide. It was the first step to spreading the March 8 tradition to the USSR satellite states and to the communist parties abroad.

Today, International Women’s Day somewhat combines Valentine’s Day and Mothers Day, and is celebrated by many of the Eastern European countries, as well as others from Afghanistan to Vietnam. It has largely outgrown its communist origins, with United Nations designating it a day to reflect on the accomplishments of women, and President Obama in 2010 paying homage to the holiday and asking the country to mark a “women’s history month.”