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International Women's Day

International Women's Day
International Women's Day is marked on the 8th of March every year. The first observance of the Women's Day was in 1909 in New York as a remembrance of the 1908 strike of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, but evolved through later years into a day marking protests for equal rights, specifically women's right to vote in elections and hold public office. In 1949 the People's Republic of China declared March 8 an official holiday; in 1977 the United Nations declared March 8 to be the UN Day for Women's Rights and World Peace.
Elizabeth Lo, director of the Mistress Dispeller documentary, on the cover of this week’s PostMag print edition. Photo: Jocelyn Tam
Editor's Letter

This week in PostMag: a focus on women in film, sport, science and life

For International Women’s Day, we look at women as wives and mistresses, as marine researchers, as athletes, and as battlers against perimenopause.

Women and gender

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2026

Food and Drinks

Your Hong Kong weekend drinks guide for March 6-9

European Union

Polish activists open abortion centre in front of parliament

The majority Catholic Poland has one of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws despite election promises from Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

Participants attend the 26th Warsaw Women’s March ‘Manifa’ on International Women’s Day in Warsaw, Poland, on Saturday. Photo: EPA-EFE
Hong Kong society

Art therapy helps Hong Kong women address ‘hidden’ family caregiving stressors

Charity Zonta International marks International Women’s Day affirming support for groups helping those suffering from family stress, violence.

Women and gender

Letters | Let’s build a Hong Kong where every woman has a chance to succeed

Readers discuss what Hong Kong must do on the road to gender equality, the barriers to fitness, and the disbanding of an NGO.

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Style Edit

Style Edit: Cartier’s Women’s Pavilion for Expo 2025 in Osaka

The pavilion features art by Naomi Kawase, Mélanie Laurent, Hiro Chiba and Mariko Mori, while Toshiya Ogino did the landscaping and Chitose Abe designed the attendants’ uniforms.

Cartier’s Women’s Pavilion for Expo 2025 in Osaka, designed by Yuko Nagayama and Es Devlin, is a call to action for global gender equality. Photo: Handout
Food and Drinks

Word on the StrEAT: 7 trailblazing women reshaping Hong Kong’s F&B scene

This International Women’s Day, female chefs and bartenders in Hong Kong share their journeys and advice for aspiring women in the F&B industry, highlighting resilience and mentorship.

Hong Kong economy

Opinion | Having more women on boards makes business sense. Hong Kong gets it

In this increasingly complex world, it is vital for businesses to embrace gender diversity, and diversity more broadly, for long-term success.

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Women and gender

Celebrating International Women’s Day

Celebrating International Women’s Day
Parenting: newborns to toddlers

3 Hong Kong working mums on balancing childcare and career

International Women’s Day is on March 8. We speak to three Hong Kong working mums on the challenges of juggling a career and family.

Anri Shiga, a working mum in Hong Kong, with her children. She and others describe the challenges of balancing childcare and career. Photo: Edmond So
Wealth management

Women in Hong Kong face huge retirement income shortfall, Fidelity study shows

Women expect an average monthly expense of HK$24,235 (US$3,120) after retirement but face an income-gap, study shows.

Hong Kong stock market

Women hold 1 in 5 board seats in Hong Kong for first time: report

Significant disparities remain in senior-management representation and pay equity, reports show.

Books and literature

Explore literary wonders at the HKILF this March

Annual week-long Hong Kong International Literary Festival returns with 68 events featuring local and international talent, including a Booker Prize winner.

Prise your eyes away from your devices: the Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2025 is here, with an enviable line-up of local and international writers. Photo: Hong Kong International Literary Festival
Art

6 women artists you should know in 2024 – from Christine Wang to Wangechi Mutu

After decades of being sidelined by the art establishment, women painters are enjoying long-overdue exposure – in the wake of Art Basel Hong Kong, here are 6 talents you should really already know

Christine Wang’s portrait of Kim Kardashian, 2020. After decades of being sidelined by the art establishment, women painters are enjoying long-overdue exposure. Courtesy: Galerie Nagel Draxler
Women and gender

How Asian women are challenging bias to carve out entrepreneurial success

Funding woes, work-life balance and prejudice remain hurdles for women entrepreneurs, who say having supportive business partners and spouses can be half the battle won.

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India

India’s farmers joined by thousands protesting on International Women’s Day

The women farmers joining in the protest say they want the government to recognise their labour contribution and struggles.

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Women and gender

China’s gender-equality failings still hold back women and economy, Beijing told

Ahead of International Women’s Day, delegates at this week’s ‘two sessions’ parliamentary gatherings call for reproductive reforms and highlight problems that remain prevalent in China’s rural areas.

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A rural woman farms land in China’s Hubei province. Photo: Getty Images
Women and gender

Female leadership in Asia-Pacific firms a victim of flexible working demise

Senior female business leadership in the Asia-Pacific region has been shrinking this year and is lagging behind other parts of the world, with the lack of flexible working in the post-Covid era posing a hindrance to gender parity, Grant Thornton says.

Millionaires and billionaires

Ranks of self-made women multimillionaires swell as barriers fall: Julius Baer

The ratio of ultra-rich women stood at 11 per cent of the global total last year, compared with 6.5 per cent in 2010, as changing attitudes towards women doing business has led to a large number of self-made female multimillionaires, according to a survey by Julius Baer.

Women and gender

Letters | How companies can ensure gender bias doesn’t hold women back

On International Women’s Day, readers discuss the need to better support women as they move up the career ladder, migrant domestic workers’ efforts to create a more inclusive city, and the Hong Kong government’s baby bonus.

Office workers in Central, Hong Kong, during lunch hour on November 20, 2023. Photo: Bloomberg
Hong Kong society

Opinion | Gender inequality hurts men and boys too. Inclusion is everyone’s fight

From men’s reluctance to seek mental help to women’s low workforce participation, harmful gender-based social norms and unequal power dynamics hurt everyone. Men and boys must go beyond being supportive allies to taking shared ownership of the cause.

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Illustration: Craig Stephens
Siobhan Haughey

Video | Swimming world champ Siobhan Haughey's journey to success

Hong Kong society

Less savings, more worries: financial anxiety weighs heavy for Hong Kong women

Recent data and warnings from social workers suggest that Hong Kong women tend to save less but need more money when they reach retirement age.

The Football Association of Hong Kong, China

Women’s football ‘fighting for everything we deserve’, world’s best Bonmati says

Barcelona’s World Cup-winning midfielder Aitana Bonmati says ‘a lot of changes’ are needed to achieve equality, urging football ‘to invest in us, and give us the opportunity’.

Spain’s Aitana Bonmati (front) celebrates scoring in the Women’s Nations League final last month. Photo: AP
Two Sessions 2024

Opinion | Why keeping Chinese women out of high politics hurts whole country

China’s respectable track record on incorporating women into the workforce falls short when it comes to high-level politics. Restricting the pool of talent at the top to half the population weakens badly needed competition and tells Chinese girls a career in politics is not for them.

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The All-China Women’s Federation holds a meeting to mark International Women’s Day and honour China’s female role models, in Beijing on March 3. Photo: Xinhua
Women and gender

Opinion | World has much work to do despite great progress in women’s rights

Women’s rights have made substantial progress in the past 50 years, but the evidence shows there is still a huge global gender gap. Progress in many critical areas has been overestimated, and many countries still fall short in protection against violence, access to childcare and more.

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ESG investing

Hong Kong-listed companies see notable rise of gender diversity on boards

Hong Kong-listed firms have seen a notable rise of female representation on boards driven by regulation, but they still lag regional peers when it comes to women in key executive roles, according to MSCI.

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