INTERNATIONAL Women's Day, a celebration of female empowerment around the world, is the subject of today's Google Doodle.
The annual celebration, taking place on March 8 every year, is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.
What is International Women's Day?
IWD is an annual celebration of women in the world and takes place in March every year.
The day is not country, group or organisation specific – and belongs to all groups collectively everywhere.
The day has taken place for over 100 years, with the first IWD gathering taking place in 1911 but under the name National Women's Day.
IWD's seeds were sown in 1910 n August 1910, when an International Socialist Women's Conference was organised to precede the general meeting of the Socialist Second International in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Delegates – 100 women from 17 countries – then decided to hold an an annual event to mark the freedom and promote the suffrage of women.
The first IWD celebrations saw over a million people celebrate participate in 300 marches in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.
According to the official IWD website renowned feminist, journalist and activist Gloria Steinem, once explained: "The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
WHY IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY HELD ON MARCH 8?
International Women’s Day became an official holiday in Russia in 1913, two years after it was first officially celebrated in 1911.
But women in Russia experienced hardships as a result of WWI, being left to deal with food shortages and a masculine-minded government while men were away at war.
On March 8, 1917 tens of thousands of Russian women took to the streets demanding change.
The unified cry for help paved the way for Russian women to be granted voting rights soon after.
Why is Google Doodle celebrating it?
The latest doodle is a multi-layered 3D animated video, celebrating women coming together from all walks of life.
The mandala animation was illustrated by New York and London-based guest artists Julie Wilkinson and Joyanne Horscroft from Makerie Studio and animated by Zurich-based guest animators Marion Willam & Daphne Abderhalden from DRASTIK GmbH.
The theme represents the history of the annual celebration and the importance that the celebration holds across different generations.
A statement on the Google Doodle page reads: "As today’s women stand on the shoulders of those who have fought and made sacrifices in the generations past, they likewise carry the legacy of the movement forward.
"Here’s to the women across sectors, industries, nations, ages, and cultures, who persist tirelessly to take charge together—paving the way for future generations to come.
"Happy International Women’s Day 2020!"
What is a Google Doodle?
In 1998, Google founders Larry and Sergey drew a stick figure behind the second 'o' of Google to show they were out of office at the Burning Man festival and with that, Google Doodles were born.
The company decided that they should decorate the logo to mark cultural moments and it soon became clear that users really enjoyed the change to the Google homepage.
Now, there is a full team of doodlers, illustrators, graphic designers, animators and classically trained artists who help create what you see on those days.
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