The day when we jump on social media to celebrate ourselves, send shout-outs to our mothers, sisters, daughters, aunties and best friends.

International Women's Day is a day when social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women all over the world are celebrated.

But how much do we really know about this special day?

Throughout history, women have had to fight for the freedoms and rights that we enjoy today.

This is a history of protests, strikes, imprisonment and loss of life, as women struggle to gain equality over the years.

To understand just how significant some of these breakthroughs were in different countries and how we got to where we are today, we need to rewind over a century ago.

In the 1900s, the fight for women's suffrage began to gain momentum in Britain.

Women were sick of not having a political voice and having decisions being made about them without their input or control.

Continuous failed attempts to achieve suffrage led Emmeline Pankhurst to form Women's Social and Political Union in 1903.

In 1908, women in America also felt the burden of inequality,

so 15,000 vocal women got together to campaign for voting rights, better pay and shorter working hours by marching down the streets of New York City.

This continued into the next year.

In 1909, with the help of the Socialist Party of America, the very first National Women's Day was observed on February 28th and the last Sunday of the month.

This was also the year that Russia observed its first International Women's Day.

Now, let's not forget this was just 'observed,' not officially declared and recognized.

So when did it officially become International Women's Day?

In many ways, it was through a collaborative effort.

But to be specific, the original idea to make the day international came in 1910 from a woman named Clara Zetkin at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen.

100 women from 17 countries agreed with her suggestion to proclaim International Women's Day to commemorate the ongoing struggles of women to improve their lives.

Although back then, it was celebrated on March 19, the first countries to recognize International Women's Day include Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland in 1911.

That year, just under a week after the first ever International Women's Day, the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire broke out in New York.

It claimed the lives of 146 garment workers, 123 of whom were women and girls.

The tragedy brought attention to labor conditions and working rights in the US.

This led to many changes in working conditions, and the memory of the women that died in the incident became hugely significant into the history of International Women's Day.

Fast forward now to World War I, where some substantial changes took place.

In 1914, the start of the war led to the recruitment of many women into jobs at munition factories as railway guards, ticket collectors, tram conductors, police officers and firefighters.

Why the sudden change in all these fields?

With so many men being away at war, the need for women workers became urgent.

In fact, munition factories became the largest single employer of women in 1918.

It was during this time that attitudes towards women in the workforce began to actually change.

In the same year in Britain, some privileged women were allowed to start voting.

And by 1928, all women above 21 were entitled to vote.

Milestones like this snowballed into more changes.

Women soon became part of parliament were able to join sports and win gold, and earn fairer pay and working rights.

In 1973, Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Rigg in the Battle of the Sexes, ending the exclusive media attention on male tennis players and the most obvious, gender gap.

In 1974, Isabel Martinez de Peron became the first female president in the world.

She served as the president of Argentina from 1974 to 1976.

In 1975, the United Nations recognized and celebrated International Women's Day.

And in 1979, Britain had its first female Prime Minister.

Barbara Walters made history for women like me in 1976 when she was hired as a first female anchor on a nightly newscast by ABC Evening News.

In 1979, women's rights activist, Susan B. Anthony was the first woman to ever appear on a US coin in circulation.

The list goes on and on.

And now we've reached a point in time where the success of women across industry and in public life is commonplace.

We are grateful and today we salute the 'sheroes' who came before us to make these things possible.

And now that you know what it took to get us here. Have your views on international Women's Day changed?