Today is International Women’s Day! In addition to my work online and face-to-face with women as well as with the products offered by our shop, I support two resources that help make every day “international women’s day.” I sponsor a woman through Women for Women International and I keep multiple microloans going at Kiva. We started making Kiva loans in 2012 when we covered economic freedom in the Cakes for the Queen of Heaven feminist spirituality class I was teaching at the time. We decided to put our money where our mouths were and make a collective loan, from our women’s circle to a women’s circle somewhere else in the world. We collected $50 from the members of the circle and I made two microloans to two different women’s groups, both in Senegal. A few more women contributed in later months, I contributed another $25 of my own and we got a $25 referral credit, and I’ve steadily kept microloans going there ever since, loaning a total of $800 to 32 different women’s groups in 20 countries since we began. The cool thing is that this did not cost me $800, instead it is the same, original money from that long-ago Cakes class that I keep relending as soon as my Kiva account builds up to $25 in repayments. There are 6 loans currently going, from what was originally only $50. Just a drop in the bucket. I encourage you to do this too!
More International Women’s Day Resources:
- Global Sisterhood Circle unify meditation and peace circles (around the world, including in my own local community this Friday!)
- Powerful books for women published by Womancraft Publishing.
- Endless fabulous resources for finding a women’s circle via the Divine Feminine app. Karen, the founder, also has a blog with lots of Women’s Circle articles and resources.
- Our own ongoing Creative Spirit Circle (free and full of resources!)
A collection of women’s circle-oriented blog posts and resources:
- Hands: Why Does a Face-to-Face Women’s Circle Matter?
- Passing the Rattle + how to make one
- Do Women’s Circles Actually Matter?
- Womanrunes and Women’s Circles – Brigid’s Grove
Past posts about Women’s Day:
- Small Business Saturday: Shining Year Meditation and International Women’s Day | Talk Birth
- International Women’s Day: Prayer for Mothers | Talk Birth
- International Women’s Day, Birth Activism, and Feminism | Talk Birth