Happy International Women’s Day!

I’m so proud of this growing community of Fierce Women and the positive and powerful messages we’re all sharing here on SheIsFierceHQ.com and across our social media pages!

Today is all about celebrating the best of being a woman, raising awareness about messaging towards women, and reaching out to give your sisters around the world a hand.

This Article in Time, International Women’s Day Shows Awareness Is Not Enough illustrates the major steps forward for women in the last decade, but that there is still so much to do for women around the world.

Here’s some of the good news:

• Girls and boys are enrolling in primary school at almost equal rates.
• Maternal mortality has dropped by 45%
• 2 billion people gained access to clean drinking water between 1990 and 2010 – meaning mom’s can worry about teaching their kids to read instead of where their next drink will come from.
• In the last 10 years, the number of women serving in legislatures has nearly doubled to about 22% of politicians worldwide

But, there’s a lot more to do:

• Worldwide, more than 700 million women alive today were married as children (below 18 years of age)
• According to a 2013 global review of available data, 35% of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence

From March 9-20, the UN’s 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place.  You can keep track of the goings-on here.

As Patricia Arquette so rightly said at the Oscars, women give birth to every tax payer and citizen!  

Let’s take some time to celebrate being a woman, and to reach out to women and girls who need to know their worth, need the right to go to schools, need protection from violence, or just need help putting food on the table for their children.

If you want to take action today and donate your time or money to a woman-centered cause, check out these great charities that do good for women from the U.S. to Sub-Saharan Africa:

• Girls Not Brides
• Heifer International
• Girl’s Inc.
• Room to Grow
• Jane Doe No More

Go to the International Women’s Day website for more ideas on how to get involved today!

So proud to be one of you #FierceWomen!

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Kelly Youngs is the Founder of She Is Fierce! She is so happy to be a part of this amazing community of Fierce Women!

Kelly is an Emmy-nominated producer and communications professor and has served as the creative and strategic lead on TV, digital and press projects for CNN, BBC, NBC, CBS, BSkyB and others. Kelly has an M.A. from the University of Sydney and has lived on three continents.  She has two absolutely adorable kids – three-year-old Elijah and 8-month-old Annabelle.

Meet Kelly here… http://www.kellyyoungs.com or on Twitter and LinkedIn