"How was it that March 8 was chosen? While the precise historical background cannot be easily found, two events are traditionally attributed as inspiration for the designation of March 8 as International Women's Day. Both of these events took place in New York. The first was a march of female textile workers in 1857. Thousands of women marched over the wealthy boroughs of New York in protest against their miserable working conditions. The second event took place in 1908. That year 40,000 seamstresses of large textile factories went on strike demanding their rights to join unions, better wages, a shorter work day, vocational training, and against child labor. During the strike, 129 women workers died burned during a fire at the Cotton Textile Factory in Washington Square. The owners had locked them up to force them to remain at work. Supposedly, both of these events took place on or around March 8."