“Women are not inherently passive or peaceful. We’re not inherently anything but human.” – Robin Morgan

International Women’s Day is March 8. It’s a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. It’s a day I hope we all do something meaningful for the women of the world, and I look forward to the day when we don’t need a reminder about gender parity because it’s second nature.

There are 3.5 billion women and girls in the world –half the world’s population. We all know and have wonderful women in our lives – our mothers, sisters, daughters, partners, friends and so much more. Women now own more than 9.4 million businesses and we’re the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the U.S. Around the world, there are now 22 women leading their countries. Since 2012, women have been earning the majority of doctoral degrees, and more than a third of all medical doctors are now women. That’s a lot of achievement to celebrate.

“A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.” – Nancy Rathburn

There is still a lot of room for growth, though, which is why we still need days like International Women’s Day. Women hold almost half of the jobs in the U.S., but only a quarter of STEM jobs belong to women. It’s predicted that women will not achieve parity on boards and in the C-suite until well beyond 2020. The biggest issue for women globally is access to education. Two-thirds of illiterate people are women, in large part because of the number of countries that restrict access to education for females.

“Don’t just stand for the success of other women – insist on it.” – Gail Blanke

However you give your support or lend your voice to the International Women’s Day effort to improve parity around the world, we can all be a part of leading change.

“You don’t have to be anti-man to be pro-woman.” – Jane Galvin Lewis

As we work toward global gender parity and world peace, let’s celebrate men and boys too.

“A gender-equal society would be one where the word ‘gender’ does not exist: where everyone can be themselves.” – Gloria Steinem