Some governments marked Wednesday with legislative changes or pledges.
Canada repealed historic indecency and anti-abortion laws, Japan said more needed to be done to change attitudes about gender and Ireland announced a referendum in November to remove outmoded references to women in the constitution.
Italy's first woman prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, focused on the role of women in the economy saying state-controlled companies should have at least one female leader.
In Japan, which ranked 116 out of 146 countries on gender parity in a World Economic Forum global report last year, chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said progress had been made on improving women's working conditions but more had to be done.
"The situation for women, who are trying to balance household and workplace responsibilities, is quite difficult in our country and has been noted as an issue," he said. "Measures to tackle this are still just halfway complete."
In Russia, where International Women's Day is one of the most celebrated public holidays, the head of its upper house of parliament used the occasion to launch a vehement attack on sexual minorities and liberal values promoted by the West.
"Men and women are the biological, social, and cultural backbones of communities," Valentina Matviyenko wrote in a blog on the Federation Council's website.
"Therefore, there are no dangerous gender games in our country and never will be. Let us leave it to the West to conduct this dangerous experiment on itself."
REUTERS
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