I don’t know why it still surprises me. Every year on March 8th, I inevitably hear the question “When do we get a Men’s Day?”. And yet it catches me off guard every time. The short answer: International Men’s Day is November 19th, believe it or not. The real answer: Men already have a monopoly on days dedicated to them—just look at our national holiday calendar. In fact, less than 10% of the world’s public holidays honouring individuals celebrate women . Men, it turns out, are already doing quite well in the holiday department. 

Our Calendars Have a Gender Problem 

Take a close look at the holidays we get off work, and you’ll notice an overwhelming pattern. Our calendars are dominated by men’s names and achievements. Here in Canada, we have our fair share of holidays tied to historic figures or events. But when we stop to consider how many national observances are named for *women* specifically, the odds are not in our favour. 

Sure, Victoria Day is named after Queen Victoria but that has more colonization feel to it than a celebrating the achievements of a female heroine. Women who reshaped our cultural landscape, fought for civil rights, or championed social reforms—there isn’t a single nationwide statutory holiday in their honour. This imbalance isn’t just a Canadian quirk; it’s global. A comprehensive analysis of 2,600 public holidays in 2022 across 170+ countries found that female-focused holidays account for fewer than 1 in 10 of all public holidays honouring individuals . Let that sink in: over 90% of the time when we stop to collectively “honour” a person with a day off, that person is male. 

We have holidays for emperors, kings, presidents, independence heroes (mostly male), even a few egregious colonizers. Meanwhile, women who shaped history are largely relegated to footnotes, not festivals. And no, guys, we really don’t need a special “Men’s Day” holiday to balance things out—the numbers show men have been hogging the spotlight for centuries . (Fun fact: For anyone still wondering, International Men’s Day does exist on November 19; but it’s not a public holiday in any country . So if you forgot to buy your dad a November 19th card last year, you’re forgiven.) 

Patriarchy Shapes the Narrative (and the Holidays) 

This skewed holiday recognition is not a coincidence. It’s a reflection of who has held power historically and whose stories have been amplified. Patriarchy has long shaped the dominant narrative, and that narrative has favoured the accomplishments of men. Generations of historians, leaders, and policymakers (mostly male until recent decades) decided which events and individuals were “important” enough to celebrate annually. Is it any wonder that they mostly canonized other men? 

Think about the traditional “great man” version of history many of us were taught: a parade of kings, presidents, generals, and male innovators. Women, if mentioned at all, were often side characters—if not outright invisible. That bias carried over into who we put on pedestals, literally and figuratively. We built statues of the founding fathers, named streets after businessmen and war heroes, and marked annual holidays for men’s victories. 

Meanwhile, achievements by women were often dismissed or viewed as exceptions. The result? Our collective memory—our shared global narrative—has become strikingly gender-skewed. Across the world, for every Gandhi Jayanti in India or Mandela Day in South Africa (both incredibly well-deserved, of course), there could easily be a Malala Yousafzai Day or Wangari Maathai Day, recognizing women who've courageously altered history. And instead of repeatedly celebrating explorers like Columbus (whose legacy, let's admit, is increasingly controversial), we could spotlight trailblazing women like Jeanne Baret, the first woman to circumnavigate the globe, or Canadians like Viola Desmond or Nellie McClung, whose contributions have significantly shaped our nation's story but remain undervalued on the calendar. 

Yet, patriarchy ensures it's mostly men’s names filling history books and, by extension, our holidays. Even religious and cultural traditions have favored men’s names. Ever notice how many countries celebrate St. Michael’s Day, St. George’s Day, or St. Patrick’s Day? How many celebrate female saints with equal fervor? (Aside from St. Mary in some cultures, very few.) 

Patriarchy isn’t just about who gets holidays, of course, but the holiday imbalance is one very telling symptom of a broader narrative imbalance. Now, this isn’t to say women haven’t been changing the world all along—they absolutely have, often without due credit. From science to civil rights, women have led revolutions, discovered elements, cracked codes, governed nations, and pioneered movements. But how often do we shut down offices and schools to commemorate those victories? Rarely, if ever. 

Women have significantly changed history, yet the holidays we observe don’t reflect that. The dominant narrative still leans in favor of men, giving the impression that only men are “heroes” worthy of nationwide remembrance. It’s a classic patriarchal feedback loop: celebrate men, remember men, then future generations also primarily learn about men. ## Why We Still Need International Women’s Day All of this is why International Women’s Day (IWD) is so important—and why I argue it must continue to be honoured and celebrated until true equality in recognition is achieved. IWD, observed every year on March 8, is one day where women collectively take center stage. It’s not about a single country or a single female historical figure; it’s about acknowledging the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women as a whole. 

Frankly, given the holiday landscape we just surveyed, we need this day. And many parts of the world understand that. In fact, International Women’s Day is an official public holiday in 27 countries around the globe , from Kazakhstan to Kenya. In some countries, it’s celebrated with marches and events; in others, it’s tradition for men to give women in their lives flowers or gifts. (In China, women even get a half-day off work on March 8 —not exactly full equality, but, it’s a start.) Roughly 15% of the world’s population lives in places where International Women’s Day comes with a day off to reflect or celebrate . And we need more of that! Contrast that with places like the United States and Canada, where International Women’s Day isn’t a holiday at all, and often passes with more hashtags than actual action. 

Some companies do celebrate it internally (you might get a conference talk about women in leadership, or free cupcakes in the break room), but it’s not a day where the stock market closes or the postal service shuts down. Given the U.S. track record — not a single federal holiday for a woman — it’s not surprising IWD hasn’t been elevated to holiday status there. 

If nothing else, wider observance of IWD could start to redress the balance and remind everyone that women’s contributions merit celebration too. As long as the rest of our calendar skews so heavily male, we absolutely must keep celebrating International Women’s Day. It’s a needed counterbalance, a day of recognition and rallying for half of humanity. IWD puts topics like gender equality, women’s rights, and the ongoing fight against discrimination front and center – at least for 24 hours. 

And until the day comes when those topics are so well integrated into our society and education that we don’t need a special occasion for them, we’re not letting this holiday go. 

Canadian Women Who Changed History (But Still Don’t Get a Day Off) 

To drive the point home, let’s look at just two of many examples of women who changed history here — yet have no national holiday in their honour. These women’s stories are well-known to Canadian history buffs, but they aren’t household names, yet. 

Nellie McClung 

If you enjoy the fact that women in Canada can vote and run for office, you might want to thank Nellie McClung. In the early 20th century, McClung was a driving force behind women’s suffrage in Canada. She helped make Manitoba the first province where women won the right to vote (in 1916), and she didn’t stop there . 

Nellie McClung is best known as one of the “Famous Five,” the group of five trailblazing women who took the landmark Persons Case all the way to Britain’s Privy Council in 1929 . Thanks to their efforts, women were legally recognized as “persons” under Canadian law, eligible to be appointed to the Senate. This was a turning point for women’s political participation in Canada. I

n other words, McClung helped half the population gain full rights and recognition. If that isn’t national-holiday material, I don’t know what is. She was also an author, a politician, and the first woman on Canada’s CBC broadcasting board – a multi-talented nation-builder. Yet, check our list of statutory holidays: no Nellie McClung Day. We do honour her on our $50 bill (she’s depicted along with the rest of the Famous Five on a commemorative section of a previous series of the $50 note) and with plaques and heritage sites, but there’s no day where everyone in the country stops and remembers Nellie. Perhaps there should be. 

Viola Desmond

South of the border, everyone knows Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her bus seat in 1955. But nine years before that, in 1946, Canada had Viola Desmond. Desmond was a Black Canadian entrepreneur and civil rights activist who refused to leave a whites-only section of a movie theatre in Nova Scotia . 

For that act of defiance against racial segregation, she was arrested and convicted on a dubious tax charge (they fined her for a one-cent difference in seat tax). Viola’s courage and legal fight became one of the most publicized incidents of racial discrimination in Canadian history, helping ignite Canada’s modern civil rights movement . It took until 2010 for Nova Scotia to issue her a posthumous pardon, apologizing for the injustice. And in late 2018, she achieved another first: Viola Desmond became the first Canadian-born woman to appear alone on a Canadian bank note – gracing the $10 bill that year. 

That’s a pretty big honour (she literally has “billboard” status in our wallets now). Yet, despite her legacy and the recognition she’s garnered in recent years, we don’t have a national Viola Desmond Day. Nova Scotia did name its new Heritage Day holiday after her in 2015, but that was a one-time dedication (the province rotates honourees each year ). There’s a movement and petitions to create a permanent holiday for her, which tells you people feel something’s missing. If a man had done what Viola did back in 1946, would he have a national holiday by now? I can’t say for sure—but given how quick we’ve been to honour certain men, it’s a fair question to ask. 

These are just two examples among countless women in Canadian (and world) history who deserve greater recognition. From Indigenous leaders like Rita Joe (a Mi’kmaq poet honoured by Nova Scotia’s Heritage Day in 2023 ) to pioneers like Emily Stowe (Canada’s first female doctor) or Rosemary Brown (the first Black woman elected to a Canadian legislature), there’s no shortage of women worthy of celebration. What’s lacking is the political and social will to elevate their stories to the same level as we do for men. Patriarchy, after all, isn’t keen to share its pedestal. 

Until There Is True Equality in Recognition 

So, will I stop celebrating International Women’s Day once we achieve gender parity in our holidays and historical honours? You bet I will—because on that glorious day, every day of the year will feel like it’s equally honouring women and men, and we might not need a special “Women’s Day” anymore. But looking at the state of things in 2025, we are nowhere near that point. The imbalance in holiday recognition is still overwhelming, and the narrative of history is still skewed. 

Until that changes, International Women’s Day must continue to be honoured and celebrated loudly and proudly. In fact, I’d say we should expand its observance: why not make it a paid holiday everywhere, or encourage companies to give employees (of all genders) the day off to volunteer for women’s charities, attend educational events, or simply reflect on women’s contributions? It’s one small step toward correcting a longstanding imbalance. 

Women have always been central to history; it’s just the recognition that’s been lagging. As long as the calendar shortchanges women, we need days like IWD to shine a spotlight on women’s achievements and push back against the patriarchal narrative. One day, hopefully, we’ll see a world where every schoolkid knows as many female heroes as male ones, where statues of women leaders are as common as those of men, and where our holiday calendar features a more balanced roster of names. 

Until the day comes when history books and holiday calendars equally reflect the brilliance, bravery, and impact of women—and until society consistently recognizes women’s experiences, from groundbreaking achievements to issues like menopause, without women having to educate everyone around them—we'll continue to need International Women’s Day. 

Patriarchy has shaped the stories we tell ourselves for generations. But those stories are incomplete. Women have changed the course of history time and again, yet we’re still fighting for equal recognition. So until real equality moves from aspiration to reality, I’ll proudly mark March 8 on my calendar—not just as a day of reflection, but as a rallying cry for rewriting history, one heroine at a time.