International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8th across the world. IWD is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past, present and future. It is a day when women are recognised for their achievements, regardless of divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political.
It is an occasion for looking back on past struggles and accomplishments, and more importantly, for looking ahead to the untapped potential and opportunities that await future generations of women.
Women have historically been underrepresented in almost all fields: science, school curricula, business, politics—and, sadly, doodles.
Today's International Women's Day doodle features a host of inspiring women from around the world, including the President of Lithuania, a brave Pakistani education activist, an ever-curious explorer, and dozens more.
Here is the full list (in order of appearance):
- Cee Chatpawee, TV host, IT Princess, Thailand
- Chinaza Godwin Christiana, Student, Nigeria
- Easkey Britton, Surfer and the first woman to surf in Iran, PhD and doctoral candidate, Ireland
- Rahimah Yussof, Developer group leader, Brunei
- Chen Yuhong, School teacher, China
- Naho Okamoto, Jewelry designer, Japan
- Mary Kom, Five-time World Boxing champion, India
- Funlayo Adewale, Canteen owner, Nigeria
- Jennifer Luo & Yi-hsin Chen, Mothers to be, Taiwan
- Alifiyah Ganjee, Developer group leader, Kenya
- Karnataka State Home Guard, India
- Ana Cecilia Castillo, Developer group leader, Guatemala
- Rivka Carmi, President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
- Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founded the place2be and Kids Company, caring for 17,000 children, UK/Iran
- Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania
- Sarah Sechan, TV personality and entertainer, Indonesia
- Shoko Uemura, Under-23 Women's Football Team member, Japan
- Janet Mock, Trans woman rights activist and author, USA
- Harusoga Fujima, Professional Nihon Buyo dancer (traditional dance), Japan
- Mara Gabrilli, Congresswoman & Brazil's spokesperson for people with disabilities, Brazil
- Maria da Penha, Women's rights advocate, named the law protecting women from domestic violence, Brazil
- Viviane Senna, Entrepreneur and founder of NGOs, Brazil
- Marta Silva, Awarded multiple times by FIFA golden ball as best female soccer player in the world, Brazil
- Students, Guatemala
- Maia Sandu, Minister of education, Moldova
- Chamki, Adventurous and inquisitive schoolgirl muppet, India
- Christine Van Broeckhoven, Molecular biologist, Belgium
- Tanha Islam, Aspiring engineer, Bangladesh
- Jake Feinler, Former head of Network Information Center at Stanford and Internet Hall of Fame member, USA
- Iryna Velychko, Galyna Korniyenko & Marina Derkach, Developer group organizers, Ukraine
- Marisa Millán, Proud grandma, Spain
- Noelle Wenceslao, Janet Belarmino & Carina Dayondon, First Filipinas to climb Mount Everest, Philippines
- Clarisse Reille, Managing Director of French Professional Committee for Apparel Economy Development, France
- Gesche Joost, Professor of Design Research and one of Germany's "100 masterminds of tomorrow", Germany
- Dora, Explorer
- Nogah Dufresne, Multinational baby, France/Israel
- Tooba Shaikh, Aspiring Developer, Pakistan
- Katelyn Donnelly, Executive Director of the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, USA/UK
- Catherine Koo, Chairlady of United Christian College Parents Teachers Association, Hong Kong
- Roba Al Assi, Blogger, Jordan
- SOS Lambrate, Ambulance volunteers, Italy
- Camila Bernal Villegas, Director of the CRAN Foundation and cancer survivor, Colombia
- Malala Yousafzai, Education activist, Pakistan
- Ashaji, Holds a Guinness World Record as most recorded artist in music history, India
- Nonna Grishaeva, Actress, comedian and singer, Russia
- Ndileka Xameni, Runs an orphanage, South africa
- İpek Hanım's Farm, Business woman turned farmer and her village , Turkey
- Prof. Jacqueline A. Oduol, Gender expert fighting for Women's and children's rights, Kenya
- Martha Debayle, Radio personality, named one of the 50th most powerful women in Mexico by Forbes, Mexico
- Alenka Godec, One of the most prominent jazz and pop singers in Slovenia, Slovenia
- Zakeeya Patel, Actress, dancer and winner of South Africa's Strictly Come Dancing 2013, South Africa
- Astrid Sartiasari, Singer, Indonesia
- Jenny Chan, Ella Wong & Ching Hoi Man, Spokeswomen, Hong Kong
- Isadora Faber, Education activist, 14 years old, Brazil
- Refiloe Khaoli, Copyrighter, South Africa
- Serena Gu, Grace Liang & Sharon Tam, University start-ups advocates, Hong Kong
- Anne Geddes, Renowned photographer and women's advocate, Australia
- Cecilia Chung, Social justice & human rights activist, HK/US
- Diaa Elyaacoubi, Serial entrepreneur, named Entrepreneur of the Year 2004, France
- Ros Juan, Entrepreneur and Social advocate, Philippines
- Funmi Victor-Okigbo, Events Production Designer, Nigeria
- Chen Junlan and QiQiGe, Office workers andproudd mothers, China
- Tarryn Tomlinson, Inspiring quadriplegic working with disadvantaged youth, South Africa
- Zahira Asmal, Founder of Design South Africa, South Africa
- Foluso Olaniyan, Agricultural pioneer, Nigeria
- Jirawadee Sudta, Awarded National Excellent Youth in law and protection of children's rights, Thailand
In honour of March 8th marking International Women's Day, we count down our picks for the top 10 women's activists of all time.
Without these women, the world would be a much, much different place.
