International Women's Day: Are You An International Woman?

By Doreen Cumberford

People have been celebrating my birthday and calling it International Women's Day for years now. I've watched how different countries honor March 8^th, from quiet pub nights out in Scotland to fierce protests in México City. Each place manages to reveal something different about what it means to be a woman in that culture. But it wasn't until I learned about Girls' Day celebrations around the world that we need to become role models for girls around the world. First we are girls then we become women.

In Japan, Hinamatsuri on March 3^rd features elaborate doll displays, they are delicate, ornate, and the idea is to prepare girls for their cultural roles. We celebrate this day in our house every year. But in México, Día de las Niñas (October 11^th) takes a very different approach with educational programs, advocacy work and fierce protection against gender violence. Both these days have the same intention of honoring girls, but in a completely different form of expression. As international women, this is what we learn: there are a thousand ways to honor what matters, depending on where you're standing and it starts with girls. Witnessing these different celebrations teaches us something unexpected: becoming an international woman isn't just about where we've lived. It's about the decision to see everything differently.

We don't automatically become international by collecting passport stamps. We become international when we choose to let those experiences change us. When we stop comparing everything to "how we do it back home" and start asking, "What can we learn from how they do it here?" – that’s when we become international and this becomes one of our superpowers when we change cultures. Are we becoming international women, or have we simply relocated to better weather? Real international women notice what’s working in their community. They bring skills from their previous lives and apply them with curiosity, not authority. Day by day they are building bridges.

Transformation in San Miguel

San Miguel is packed with women who have transformed into real international women. The woman who spent decades as a union organizer, a self-described "paid troublemaker" fighting for workers' rights. When COVID hit, she didn't suddenly become someone new. She became more herself, mobilizing an entire neighborhood, coordinating support; or the immigration attorney who takes visitors on trips to the campo to visit rural Otomí villages and support local women in their ventures; or the advertising executive who traded up media buys for publishing leadership here. It’s the same strategic mind and ability to rally people around a vision. This is what international women do: We don't just reinvent ourselves. We get to choose which parts of ourselves get the spotlight and what skills, experience and talents to deploy.

My Birthday Wish

Here's my birthday wish for all of us on this International Women's Day: let’s stop resisting the transformation that's already happened. We've changed, our humour, our patience for small talk, even the way "home" feels when we visit. We now speak languages (literal and cultural) that most people never learn. We can belong and stay separate, holding two opposing ideas in mind simultaneously, which is rarer than we think nowadays.

This isn't about becoming someone new. It's about owning who we are becoming.  San Miguel is full of women who arrived following curiosity, adventure, or a quiet inner pull. What we discovered: we weren't just changing location, we were building a version of ourselves we couldn't have accessed any other way.

Your Story

I'm curious: Do you consider yourself an international woman? What unexpected moment made you realize you'd become one? Was it a specific celebration you witnessed? A conversation you navigated between cultures? That first time you helped a newcomer with something that once baffled you? Because once we identify what being an international woman means, we can truly deploy those skills for good.

Doreen Cumberford is an intercultural trainer, author, and host of Nomadic Diaries podcast. Learn more at nomadicdiariespodcast.com