The first International Women’s Day was launched on 8 March 1911 in Copenhagen by Clara Zetkin of the Social Democratic Party in Germany. This followed many years of women’s campaigning in many countries calling for women’s suffrage: New Zealand had already given women the right to vote in 1893 and the WSPU were campaigning in the UK.

Purple, green and white are the official international women’s colours. The colours originated from the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1908. The colours were said to represent:

- white for purity in public as well as private life
- purple for justice, dignity, self-reverence and self-respect (and representing the women’s vote)
- green for hope and new life.

These days International Women’s Day is seen as an opportunity to give flowers to a woman to show that you appreciate her. This is a popular reason for flower-giving in Russia and Poland, where flowers are traditionally given in bouquets containing an odd number of blossoms.