5 Things Worth Celebrating This International Women’s Day

CREDO celebrates International Women's Day
Photos left to right: Flickr/The U.S. National Archives. Flickr/NY Public Library, Flickr/Mennonite Church USA Archives. Background image from Flickr/The British Library.

When we celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, we’ll be reminded that the fight for women’s equality is far from over. American women still earn only 78 cents for every dollar that men earn. And worldwide, the picture is far more bleak. The World Economic Forum reports that it will take 81 years to close this gender gap at the current rate of change.

Clearly, there is more work to be done. And at CREDO, we’re doing it. We promote women’s equality by directing much-needed donations to progressive nonprofit groups working hard every day for women’s rights. In 2015 alone, we gave over $350,000 to five amazing women’s rights groups.

These donations are generated by CREDO members when they use our services like CREDO Mobile. They cost our members nothing extra, but they mean everything to the groups that receive them—groups like Planned Parenthood, fighting on the frontlines to defend women’s reproductive rights. Since 1985, we’ve donated over $3 million to Planned Parenthood and we’re proud to be the organization’s largest corporate sponsor.

We’ll never stop pushing for equality in the years ahead. But, on this International Women’s Day, we’ll also celebrate the amazing progress we’ve made for women’s rights.

Five things to celebrate this International Women’s Day

1. More women are getting an education. Worldwide, girls now enroll in primary school at almost the same rate as boys. And national constitutions adopted since 1995 are more likely to ensure equality in education for girls than those adopted before. Further, two-thirds of constitutions adopted after 1995 guarantee free primary education, compared with just half before 1995.

2. Women are leading the campaign for clean water. For example, in India, panchayats (local councils) that are led by female majorities implement 62% more drinking water projects than male-led councils.

3. Women are investing in the future. Evidence from countries around the world shows that increasing the share of household income controlled by women, either through their own earnings or cash transfers, changes their spending habits in ways that benefit children.

4. Women are a boost for business. When women are given the opportunity to lead, companies enjoy increased organizational effectiveness. In 2014, McKinsey and Co. estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management do better in all facets of organizational effectiveness.

5. Women are leading more cities, states and nations. Almost twice as many women hold political office today than 20 years ago.

The world will celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8, with the theme “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.” Here at CREDO, we’ll also be celebrating on March 8 but we’ll still be working hard every day of the year to make true equality a reality for women.

For Inspiration

Purnima Mane, president and CEO of Pathfinder International shared the importance of CREDO members’ support for women’s health and equality:

“On this International Women’s Day, as we celebrate the achievements of women around the world, we need to pause to not only honor the women in our own lives, but to think about how we can support the hundreds of millions of women and girls globally who currently want, but lack access to, family planning. We must remember that family planning, and specifically contraceptive services and knowledge, offers women and their partners the ability to make key decisions about their sexual and reproductive health so they can take control of their lives. It is our mission to secure the right of all people to choose if and when to have a child – regardless of where they live – and our work would not be possible without the support of companies like CREDO.”

This kind of impact is why I come to work every day here at CREDO and we know it’s why people choose CREDO Mobile as their phone service.