VOA慢速英语：联合国庆祝国际妇女节

Countries around the world are celebrating International Women's Day (IWD) on Wednesday, March 8.

世界各国在3月8日星期三庆祝国际妇女节(IWD)。

The United Nations says the theme it is celebrating this year is DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.

联合国表示，今年庆祝的主题是“数字包容：创新和技术推动性别平等”。

The U.N. says that from the earliest days of computing, women have contributed to information technology. But, it says those contributions have been little recognized or valued.

联合国表示，从计算机诞生之初起，女性就为信息技术做出了贡献。但是，女性的这些贡献几乎没有得到过认可或重视。

The international organization says 37 percent of women do not use the internet. It also says 259 million fewer women than men have access to the internet. Yet, women account for very close to half the world’s population. The U.N. says women are largely underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.

该国际组织表示，37%的女性不使用互联网。报告还表示，女性上网人数比男性少2.59亿人。然而，妇女几乎占世界人口的一半。联合国表示，在科学、技术、工程和数学领域，女性的比例严重不足。

Bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality, says the U.N.'s website.

联合国网站写道：“将女性纳入科技领域，会带来更具创造性的解决方案，并在满足女性需求和促进性别平等方面有更大的创新潜力。”

For this year’s International Women’s Day, U.S. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement, “Let us work together – across governments, the private sector and civil society – to build a more inclusive, just, and prosperous world for women, girls, men, and boys everywhere.”

对于今年的国际妇女节，美国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯在一份声明中说:“希望各国政府、私营部门和民间社会共同努力，为世界各地的妇女、女童、男人和男孩建设一个更加包容、公正和繁荣的世界。”

What Is International Women’s Day?

什么是国际妇女节?

The IWD has its roots in the social and labor movement in the United States.

国际妇女节起源于美国的社会和劳工运动。

It began in New York City on March 8, 1857, when female workers marched in protest of unfair working conditions and unequal rights in clothing factories. The workers called for a shorter workday and better pay, the National Archives says.

国际妇女节始于1857年3月8日的纽约市，当时女工们举行游行，抗议服装厂不公平的工作条件和不平等的权利。国家档案馆表示，工人们要求缩短工作时间，提高工资。

On March 8 of 1908, women workers again marched through New York City to protest child labor and poor working conditions, and demand women's right to vote.

1908年3月8日，女工们再次在纽约市游行，抗议童工和恶劣的工作条件，并要求给予妇女投票权。

The first recorded celebration internationally was on March 19, 1911, in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. At that time, over a million people came out to support women's rights.

1911年3月19日，奥地利、丹麦、德国和瑞士举行了国际上首次有记录的庆祝活动。当时，有一百多万人出来支持妇女权利。

After World War II, several countries started to celebrate women’s day on March 8. Two years later, the U.N. officially declared that date as International Women’s Day in 1977. Some countries, including China, Russia and Uganda, also recognize it as a public holiday.

第二次世界大战后，一些国家开始在3月8日庆祝妇女节。两年后，联合国于1977年正式宣布这一天为国际妇女节。包括中国、俄罗斯和乌干达在内的一些国家，也承认这一天为公共假日。

Past U.N. celebrations have included the issues of climate change, rural women and HIV/AIDS.

过去联合国的庆祝活动主题包括气候变化、农村妇女和艾滋病等。

And, since 2007, the U.S. State Department has presented the International Women of Courage Award to more than 180 women in 80 countries.

自2007年以来，美国国务院向80个国家的180多名妇女颁发了“国际妇女勇气奖”。

I’m Jill Robbins.

吉尔·罗宾斯报道。