International Women's Day 2026: celebrating women in education and beyond

This International Women's Day, here’s to the women who back themselves

Every year on 8 March, the world pauses to celebrate woman who are quietly doing remarkable things. 

The ones studying for a degree while raising a family. 

The ones changing careers in their forties because they finally decided to back themselves. 

The ones sitting in a lecture hall for the very first time, wondering if they belong there and discovering that they absolutely do.

This year's International Women's Day theme is Give to Gain, a reminder that when we invest in women, champion their ambitions, and remove the barriers in their way, everyone benefits. Communities grow stronger, workplaces become fairer, and economies thrive. It's not just the right thing to do. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that it works.

At the University of East London, that idea sits at the heart of everything we do.

Education is one of the most powerful things a woman can do

Access to learning isn't just about getting a qualification. It’s about gaining the confidence, the skills, and the independence to shape your own future on your own terms.

In the UK today, more women than ever are entering higher education. Many women are now university students, and they're graduating with strong results across a huge range of subjects. 

Women are still underrepresented in senior leadership, in STEM industries, and in the highest-earning professions. The gender pay gap hasn't disappeared, it’s narrowed, yes, but it persists. And for many women, particularly those from lower-income backgrounds, from ethnic minority communities, or those who are first in their family to consider university, the path to higher education still comes with very real obstacles.

This is exactly why institutions like UEL matter. The University of East London has one of the most diverse student bodies in the country, based in a part of London that reflects the full, brilliant complexity of modern Britain. Many of the women who study here are the first in their families to go to university. Many are juggling work and caring responsibilities alongside their studies. Many have taken unconventional paths to get here — and they're thriving because of it, not despite it.

Give to Gain

Give to Gain brings focus to community support and generosity. When people and organisations give generously, whatever that looks like, women's opportunities multiply. As the IWD 2026 theme says, 'When women thrive, we all rise.'

It might mean donations, sure - but it also means shared resources, education, and knowledge. 

Give to Gain is about recognising that gender equality isn't a zero-sum game. When you give women access to education, opportunity, and support, society gains. Businesses gain. Families gain. Future generations gain.

It's also a personal call to action, for women to invest in themselves. To take the course they've been putting off. To apply for the promotion, they've talked themselves out of. To enrol in the degree, they convinced themselves wasn't for someone like them.

Women at UEL are taking action

Across UEL's campuses, women are studying everything from law and business to nursing, data science, social work, and architecture. They're doing placements at London's leading employers, building networks, and graduating into careers that would have been out of reach without that foundation.

UEL's flexible study options mean that a career change, a family, or a complicated life doesn't have to mean putting your ambitions on hold. Many students study part-time, access support through the university's wellbeing and financial services, and benefit from a community that genuinely reflects their own backgrounds and experiences.

That sense of belonging matters more than people realise. When you look around a lecture room and see people who look like you, who've come from similar places, who are navigating similar challenges, it changes what you believe is possible for yourself.

Here's to every woman who has ever backed herself

International Women's Day is many things. It's a moment to celebrate how far we've come. It's a reminder of how much further there is to go. And it's an opportunity for all of us to think about how we give to gain. How we invest in the women around us, in our communities, and in ourselves.

If you're a woman who has been thinking about taking the next step — whether that's returning to education, starting a degree for the first time, or exploring a postgraduate qualification this might be the nudge you needed. UEL's range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes are open to women at every stage of life, every background, and every starting point. Because the best time to back yourself is always now.

Happy International Women's Day. From everyone at UEL: we see you, we celebrate you, and we're with you.