International Women’s Day 2021
With hands held high* the Island School community came together to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March 2021. From temporarily renaming Houses to quizzes about women, International Women’s Day honours the achievements of women globally and throughout history.
The Island School Social Justice Group led the programme of International Women’s Day celebrations. The most notable being the change of House names to exemplary women who’ve significantly contributed to society and have often been overlooked. Students, parents and House staff were asked to vote for their preferred inspiring women from a shortlist of names of influential female figures. The new House names will be revealed during Island School’s end of term assembly on Friday, 26 March 2021.
The ISSJG also designed a series of online quizzes to educate students about the achievements of women in various sectors. The quizzes were incorporated into Elements lessons. Ginny Park (10W), a Global Politics and Debate student said, “I really enjoyed doing the quizzes. It taught me a lot about gender equity and the role of women in the past and the recent years.”
Ms. McPhee, History Teacher and the ISSJG supervisor remarked, “The Island School community participated in the ‘choose to challenge’ theme for International Women’s Day on 8 March. This day will be followed by a full week of activities from April 12-16 when the ISSJG has organised a focus week to celebrate inspiring women.”
“International Women’s Day was a very successful event. I hope this is certainly not the end of celebrating women’s success – it should continue being honored every day.”
The ISSJG hopes that the Island School community better understands the inequality women in society face, and that together they can strive for gender diversity.
Tennis player Serena Williams said: “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.”
Written by Hailey Lau 10N, Media Team
Photographs by Ady Lam 11E, Media Team
* Pledge to challenge gender biases, inequity and to create a more inclusive world by taking a photo of you doing the International Women’s Day #ChooseToChallenge pose! The ISSJG will create a photo collage to be displayed during Women’s Liberation Week in April. Upload your photo here.
