March 8: International Women's Day calls for more women in leadership

The theme for International Women's Day this year is "Women in Leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world", calling for an equal future Gender equality at the highest level, namely women heads of state, does not exist. Only twenty-two women are heads of state or government out of 195 countries (11 per cent) and the number of women in national parliaments is less than 25 per cent. A study carried out in 87 countries found that only 3.5 per cent of women working in Covid task teams had gender parity in terms of pay and conditions. Monday March 8 is International Women's Day, a national holiday in Russia (since 1965) to commemorate the remarkable achievements of women in guaranteeing victories for human rights despite continued constraints. International Women's Day serves as a focal point for us to document the present and future challenges facing women and to pool resources to implement women's rights on a global scale. Amazing it is that such a Day should still be necessary.