Happy International Women's Day!

Today is International Women's Day!

There is a huge number of events happening today all across the globe - visit www.internationalwomensday.com for details. There is a handy filter you can use to see what's happening in your country.

The first US National Women's Day was held in 1909, with other countries adopting the idea in subsequent years. In Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, Women's Day is a national holiday.

Do we really need International Women's Day?

Although there have been huge improvements made since 1909, women still do not receive equal pay in many roles, and are still vastly underrepresented in politics and business.

In 29 countries, less than 30 per cent of women are literate.

In Canada, a report by the Canadian Labour Congress shows that women in Canada who worked full-time jobs in 2005 earned 70 cents for every dollar earned by men. Twice as many men than women earned $60,000 or more, while most of the people working for minimum wage were women.

On a global scale, there is still a huge amount of violence against women, and availability of education is still a real issue for many women internationally. Even in countries like Canada, the US and the UK, even where we believe that we as women can choose to have a successful career and be treated as equals in the workforce, we still find obstacles in our way, such as the prevalence of maternal profiling.

I believe International Women's Day is important to remind us that we have to be aware of our position in society and our rights, and be ready to defend them, and women around the world, if they appear threatened.

Why International Women's Day Matters - three short films from The Guardian newspaper.