Bay Area women are taking to the Golden Gate Bridge this morning to celebrate the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.
A number of women, including Oakland Mayor Jean Quan, are walking across the bridge to recognize the political, economic and social achievements of women throughout the world.
“I love the symbolism, because women are a bridge between home and family and social and political movements,” Quan said in a phone interview this morning on her way to the event.
The women planned to meet at Crissy Field at 10 a.m. before walking across the bridge.
The event, “Join WoMEn on the Bridge,” is taking place for the second year in a row this year as part of a campaign launched by Google in support of International Women’s Day.
Quan said International Women’s Day reminds women of the importance of banding together. The celebration was reinvigorated in the 1960s during women’s labor struggles in the U.S., she said.
Quan, who has previously celebrated the day in large marches in Washington D.C., now has another reason to remain involved.
“As the first woman mayor of Oakland, how could I not participate?” Quan asked.
Others will be celebrating International Women’s Day with events throughout the Bay Area today.
A group of mothers will be marching from 16th and Mission streets in San Francisco at 4:30 p.m. to highlight issues affecting women.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and the county Office of Women’s Policy will be hosting a tribute to women in the Isaac Newton Senter Auditorium at 5 p.m.
The group Oxfam America will use International Women’s Day to highlight women on the front lines of the fights against global hunger and climate change. That event takes place at the David Brower Center in Berkeley at 6:30 p.m.
“Women are at the forefront for change,” Quan said. “This holiday is an important reminder.”
Rachel Purdy, Bay City News
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