Christina This month we are marking 50 years of International Women’s Day (IWD). That’s about as long as you and I have been alive. Who has aged better—us or IWD?
Nidhi
We have, obviously! IWD has certainly gained global recognition, but progress toward gender equality has deep wrinkles—and some of them are getting deeper.
ChristinaI agree. Ten years ago, I might have answered differently, but today, I feel a real sense of contradiction. I grew up in the ‘70s listening to “Free to Be You and Me,” a blockbuster album that showcased the idea that boys and girls could do anything, that equality was inevitable. But now, watching my 16-year-old daughter come of age with fewer rights than I had? It’s shocking.
Nidhi
And our childhoods were so different. In 1975, I was a toddler in Northern India, surrounded by women expected to follow a traditional path—teacher, wife, mother. That was the future planned for me, too. But I see progress firsthand here in India. I see more and more girls advocating for their rights, and more men and boys standing with them. The change is real - but it’s far too slow. The 2024 Global Gender Gap Report tells us that it will still take 130 years to reach gender equality at the current pace. That’s beyond frustrating.
Christina
Reflecting on 50 years of IWD brings both progress and contradictions into sharp focus. The young people we work with in India and Kenya don’t just believe in gender equality—they fight for it. The girls and boys in our programs recognize discrimination and actively push back—whether it’s rejecting child marriage, standing up for a friend, or making their own educational choices. They aren’t just aware of inequality; they’re challenging it in ways big and small.
And yet, globally, the data tell a different story. Take the Reykjavik Index for Leadership: in the U.S., less than half of people believe women are as suited for leadership as men. That’s staggering.
Nidhi
And that disconnect is everywhere. Yes, we’ve made progress—more girls in school, fewer child marriages—but when you disaggregate the data, you see that progress is deeply uneven.
Here in India, the national average of girls staying in school for 10 years is 41%—but in some districts where we work in Madhya Pradesh, it’s just 21%. Nationally, 23% of girls are married before 18, but in those same areas, it’s 46%. Meanwhile, Iraq just passed a law allowing nine-year-old girls to marry. And in Afghanistan? The Taliban is erasing women from public life. And let’s not forget: child marriage is still legal in 37 US states.
Christina
Which is why it’s so critical to tell the full story—not just the successes, but the setbacks, too. Too often, data gets flattened. Take discussions about women in the workforce here in the US—too often, research treats “women” as a single category, when the truth is not all women experience the same barriers.
Black and Latina women, for example, face intersecting biases—their access to leadership roles, pay equity, and generational wealth-building opportunities are vastly different from those of white women. If we don’t break down the details, we miss the real picture of progress—and who is still being left behind.
Nidhi
Exactly. And with all these contradictions, it feels like we’re living in a dystopian movie. So, if the fight for gender justice were a Hollywood reboot, what are we in?
Barbie, The Hunger Games, or Mad Max: Fury Road?
Christina
Hunger Games, hands down. Women’s rights are being hunted down. In the US, it’s not just
abortion under attack—some states are now trying to restrict contraception. It’s dystopian.
Nidhi
I’d say a mix of all three. We need Barbie’s audacity—believing women can be anything. We need Hunger Games-level resistance. And we need the Mad Max fight to break patriarchal systems wide open.
Christina
Yes! And this rage? It’s necessary. I keep thinking about a famous photo of an older woman at the Women’s March holding a sign that said: “My arms are tired from holding this sign from the 60s.”
How are we still having to make the case for equal participation in society?
Nidhi
Every time I lead presentations at conferences or gatherings, my first slide is still the economic case for educating girls. We have mountains of evidence proving how it transforms societies. But why do we still have to prove it? Why is this still a debate?
Christina
Because the fight isn’t over. And as exhausting as it is—we’re in it. Arms tired, but still holding the damn sign.
Looking at the world from where you sit in Delhi, across the countries we work in—what are the most powerful levers for advancing gender equality?
Nidhi
I’ve said this forever, and it hasn’t changed—mindset shift is everything. Laws, policies, and access to opportunities all follow when people’s beliefs shift. That’s why our work with adolescents—both girls and boys—matters so much. And not just them, but parents, teachers, community leaders, and policymakers.
That’s also why storytelling is so powerful. We’ve spent over a decade using films and personal narratives to challenge norms, and it works. When people see and hear stories of girls breaking barriers, something shifts inside them. That’s the lever. It’s painstaking and slow, but it’s what moves societies forward.
Christina
Yes, it’s slow, but we’re lucky enough to see mindset change in real-time. We see a girl hear a story and suddenly imagine a different future. We see a boy recognize his sister deserves the same rights he does.
And of course, education is the great equalizer. It’s where people gain not just knowledge, but a belief in their own potential. That’s why we work both in schools and outside them. That’s why we’ve been evolving our approach—engaging local and national governments more, integrating our work into policies so change is systemic. Because this fight needs every tool available. Beyond our direct work, legal frameworks are another essential lever—changing inheritance laws, child marriage laws, and labor laws. That’s not our primary focus, but I have immense respect for those fighting those battles. The law can be a powerful safeguard.
And, yes, this work can be frustrating but the young people in our programs keep me going. Girls standing up against child marriage, students leading environmental initiatives in their communities. Their conviction is unshakable, and if they can keep going despite the risks, how could I not?
What about you? What keeps you going?
Nidhi
Honestly? I’m just too stubborn to quit.
Yes, the setbacks are infuriating. But then I meet a teenage girl with fire in her eyes, telling me her dreams, and I think: there’s no time to sit around feeling frustrated. This is a privilege—to be able to do something, to be part of this movement, ensuring young people have the skills to successfully transition into adulthood - digital skills, financial literacy, understanding of climate change, the ability to advocate for themselves.
And, of course, my daughter. Every time she tells me she’s proud of what we do, I feel an even greater responsibility to keep pushing forward. It’s about her, her friends, and every girl out there who deserves a fair shot.
Christina
Absolutely. And one more thing that keeps me going? The long view.
Yes, we’re facing rollbacks in some places. Yes, progress feels infuriatingly slow. But history shows us that change does happen. My grandmother’s world, my mother’s world, my world—they’ve all been different in terms of opportunities for women. And my daughter’s world will be different, too.
Nidhi
That’s true. We have to hold that tension—urgency and patience. Impatience is what drives us, but recognizing progress is what sustains us.
So, if you had to give people one concrete action to take this year to support women and girls, what would it be?
Christina
Two things: Support organizations doing the work - there are many, including us - and vote.
Wherever you are in the world, make your voice count. Don’t disengage, don’t tune out, don’t throw up your hands. It’s tempting to shut it all out when the noise gets too loud, but we cannot afford complacency. Engage in elections—at every level. School boards, city councils, and national governments. That’s how laws change. That’s how rights are protected.
Alright, Nidhi—25 years from now, IWD turns 75. You and I (hopefully!) will be sitting somewhere, wine in hand, reflecting on it all.
My deepest hope? That we’ll not be having the same conversation. That we’ll look back and say, “Wow, remember when we thought it would take 130 years to reach gender equality? We were wrong. It happened faster.”
Nidhi
Yes! I hope we’re celebrating, not still fighting the same battles. And that we’ll be able to say: “Look how far we’ve come.”
So, here’s to progress, persistence, and maybe—just maybe—proving those stats wrong.
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