International Women's Day
International Women’s Day (IWD), formally recognized by the United Nations in 1975, has become a globally recognized event in honor of women’s political, social, economic, and cultural contributions while advancing the struggle for gender justice. Since 2017, Howard University has taken part in this tradition through an annual celebration that centers the unique experiences of women in leadership across multiple domains. The program was initiated by Dr. J. Jarpa Dawuni and Dr. Krista Johnson, founders of the Women, Gender, and Sexualities Collective (WGSC), which later evolved into the Center for Women, Gender and Global Leadership (CWGGL). Their vision was to create a space where students, faculty, policymakers, diplomats, and members of the community could engage in rigorous conversations about global gender politics from multiple perspectives. The series has grown into one of the university’s key annual events focused on women’s leadership and transnational justice.
Howard University’s inaugural International Women’s Day celebration in 2017 aligned with the United Nations theme “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50–50 by 2030.” The event marked “150 years of Howard University’s Internationalization of Black Women’s Consciousness and Gender Equity” and featured Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, then a global finance and development leader who had served as Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and as Managing Director of the World Bank, and Congresswoman Karen Bass of California, who is now Mayor of Los Angeles. Together they reflected on how their lives and leadership trajectories shaped global governance, economic development, and public policy. Their discussion brought the UN theme to life by demonstrating how Black women are advancing equity and driving institutional change in the national and global economy.
In 2018, Howard hosted feminist scholar and activist Dr. Amina Mama, Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Davis. Her International Women’s Day lecture responded to the UN theme “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Lives.” Dr. Mama addressed the long history of African feminist movements, the intellectual labor of women activists in Africa. Her talk connected feminist theory to activism across rural and urban spaces, underscoring the ways African women have long spearheaded the struggle for liberation and gender equity across communities and borders.
The 2019 celebration brought together two prominent African women leaders for an in-depth conversation on women, politics, and law. Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, former Vice President for Africa at the World Bank and a key figure in Nigeria’s political reform movement, joined Dr. Hauwa Ibrahim, an internationally renowned human rights lawyer and recipient of the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize. Journalist Linord Moudou moderated the discussion. In 2020, Howard University’s IWD program featured Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, then United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, in conversation with Ambassador Dr. Thelma Phillip-Browne of Saint Kitts and Nevis. For each of these rich conversations, these high-level leaders shared stories of the transformative power of women in governance and public life.
In 2021, Howard University’s International Women’s Day program addressed the profoundly altered global landscape created by the COVID-19 pandemic. That year’s United Nations theme, “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a COVID-19 World,” framed a program honoring women frontline healthcare workers and spotlighting the gendered inequities the pandemic amplified.
The 2022 celebration focused on women in diplomacy and international affairs, aligning with the UN theme “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow.” Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas, former U.S. Ambassador to Senegal, and Ambassador Pamela L. Spratlen, former U.S. Ambassador to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, reflected on their careers navigating the Foreign Service, shaping foreign policy, and advancing gender equity within international institutions. Their dialogue underscored the crucial role of women diplomats in addressing global challenges such as democracy, climate change, development, and security.
By 2023, International Women’s Day at Howard University had become a well-established platform for exploring cutting-edge issues. That year’s event, titled “Breaking Barriers and Making Change: Black Women in Tech,” responded directly to the UN theme “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.” The virtual roundtable assembled three women leaders shaping the future of technology: Chanelle Hardy, Head of Civil Rights and Strategic Outreach at Google; Denasia Pinkard, Content Design Manager and Equity Lead at Meta; and Erica Terry Derryck, a global communications executive at Intuit. They discussed their experiences working in the tech sector and the creative strategies women employ to transform industry culture. The event also marked the launch of a new CWGGL initiative focused on Black women and technology, expanding the Center’s commitment to examining digital innovation through an globally informed lens.
Together, these programs illustrate Howard University’s sustained commitment to situating Black women at the forefront of global conversations about leadership, equity, and justice.