Last March, during International Women’s Month, we convened a CSW parallel session focused on how inclusive and collaborative research can drive gender-responsive and innovative solutions to persistent inequalities across Sub-Saharan Africa. We examined challenges in education, health, economic empowerment, and leadership, and we spoke honestly about a growing global resistance to gender equality efforts. Even then, it was clear that progress was fragile.
Since that event, the geopolitical landscape has grown more hostile. Commitments to gender equity are increasingly questioned, diluted, or quietly abandoned. For many of us working in social justice spaces, this shift has been discouraging and deeply exhausting. There have been moments when the weight of it all felt overwhelming. I will admit that there were times I stepped back from the news simply to breathe.
But leadership demands clarity, even in difficult moments. Fear thrives when people retreat, and justice cannot be built in silence. The rights we advocate for are not special privileges. They are human rights. And human rights are not optional, negotiable, or conditional on political convenience.
This year’s International Women’s Day theme, “Give To Gain,” offers an important reminder at a time when fatigue and uncertainty are tempting many to withdraw. The message is simple but powerful: when societies invest in women and girls, everyone benefits. Progress in gender equality is not a zero-sum game. It is a collective gain for families, communities, economies, and institutions.
Yet, the reality is that too often, the expectation of “giving” has been placed almost entirely on women themselves. Women are expected to give their labour, their resilience, their patience, and their emotional strength while navigating systems that remain structurally unequal. Their resilience is celebrated, but the structures that demand such resilience often remain unsupportive.
This is where the deeper meaning of Give To Gain becomes critical. The responsibility to give must extend beyond individual women. Governments must give stronger protections. Institutions must give equitable opportunities. Communities must give recognition and support. And societies must give space for women’s leadership to flourish.
When these forms of giving occur, the gains become visible everywhere. Economies grow stronger, educational systems become more inclusive, public health outcomes improve and leadership becomes more representative. Gender equality is not merely a moral aspiration; it is a practical investment in collective progress.
At this point in history, courage matters more than comfort. The courage required now is not the absence of fear, but the decision to keep showing up. It is the courage to keep asking difficult questions, to keep demanding accountability, and to rethink approaches that are no longer working. Most importantly, it is the courage to stand together.
This work is not a solo act. Courage grows in community. It is sustained through shared purpose and collective action. This belief sits at the heart of the work we do at The Blooming Mum, The Winford Centre for Children and Women and the Cambridge Network for Disability and Education Research (CaNDER) where we live by the principle of Give to Gain. When women give their voice, their solidarity, and their support to one another, society gains stronger systems, fairer policies, and more inclusive futures.
This International Women’s Day is not a moment to retreat. It is not a time to soften demands or lower expectations. If anything, it is time to be clearer and firmer. Women’s rights are not negotiable. They do not expire in difficult political climates, and they do not depend on how resilient women prove themselves to be.
Giving voice to women is not charity. Giving women access to leadership is not symbolic. Giving women safety, education, and economic opportunity is not optional. These are investments that strengthen societies as a whole.
To truly embrace the spirit of Give To Gain, we must move beyond symbolic gestures toward meaningful transformation. We must create systems that do not merely celebrate women’s resilience but actively support their advancement.
