In 1908, women workers in America were protesting the inhuman conditions of their employment in the newly industrial world. In the same year, in response to demands about women's work, the Communist Party in the U.S. settled on the last Sunday of February for an annual female suffrage demonstration day.
In 1910, Clara Zetkin was instrumental in changing IWD to March 8th , and spreading it throughout the world. After that, IWD was suspended for a while because of wars and so on.
In the 30's, it was hardly observed and only in the late of 60's did the women's movements start taking action for women's rights on IWD again. Moreover, since 1975 and the UN International Year of Women, the IWD agenda has been celebrated annually on March 8th in countries spanning the globe.
In Japan, since 1945, political parties and women's labour associations have led meetings and internal events annually on March 8th.

IWD in Nagoya was a joint effort between feminists groups and political parties annually until the 80's. Since ending that alliance, each of the women's associations have separately campaigned actively for various women's issues during IWD celebrations up to the present day. In 1993 and '94, a large Women's Festival was held for IWD at Nagoya City Women's Center.
In 1995, many Japanese women attended the NGO Forum of the UN international Conference on Women in Beijing. One hundred women from the Tokai Network for the Women's Conference in Beijing , including 40 women who attended NGO Forum, shared views on many kinds of women's issues with women from all over the world.

In 1996 March 10th, following the UN international Conference, an IWD festival was held in Hisaya Park in Nagoya City, due to interest from foreign women who were supported by some local groups. This festival was the first of it's kind to be held by a coalition between Japanese women and foreigners who live in Aichi-prefecture.It featured an exhibition of pictures from the UN international Conference on Women in Beijing, a marketplace, and a stage. Although it was small scale, it was an active, vivid event.

In 1997, the second IWD festival was celebrated at Higashibetsuin Seishonen Kaikan in Nagoya City with the slogan , "Let's Get Together! Speak out - Women!" More than 200 multinational women celebrated IWD on that occassion.