Today, March 8, International Women’s Day is celebrated, a date recognized by the United Nations, commemorating equality between men and women.
The idea of celebrating Women’s Day emerged at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when women began to enter the workforce. Despite the various significant events that contributed to the proclamation of this date as Women’s Day, the most widespread account of the commemoration of March 8 refers to events that took place on that date in 1908. A total of 146 female workers were burned to death in a fire at the Cotton textile factory in New York after bombs were thrown at them for refusing to leave the building they had occupied to protest the low wages and poor working conditions they endured.
Today, numerous events are being held throughout Spain to commemorate this day, making it a good opportunity to talk about women and work-life balance, since this is the key tool for achieving genuine equality between men and women. Combining work and family responsibilities remains difficult, although there is increasing awareness of the need for a genuine work-life balance, because it undoubtedly benefits everyone: employees, who can continue to meet their families’ needs, and companies, which benefit greatly from the well-being of their workers.
The Alares Foundation works to make work-life balance a reality in the workplace, since promoting equality is one of its principles.
