Wednesday March 8 marks International Women's Day, with festivals, concerts and exhibitions among the numerous events planned around the world to celebrate the achievements of women in society. The annual event has been held since the early 1900s and traditionally promotes a different theme each year, with this year's edition calling on people to #BeBoldForChange and push for a more gender-inclusive working world. Reuters photographers have been speaking with women in a range of professions around the world about their experiences of gender inequality. Here: Yolaina Chavez Talavera, 31, a firefighter, poses for a photograph in front of a truck at a fire station in Managua, Nicaragua, February 22, 2017. (Photo by Oswaldo Rivas/Reuters)

“Show Time”. It's a normal behavior of mantis. They're doing defence. When they're afraid of; raising their arms and spreading their wings. They looks like smiling dancer. Photo location: Nicosia, Cyprus. (Photo and caption by Hasan Baglar/National Geographic Photo Contest)

A Sphynx cat stares sitting on its owner's lap during an international feline beauty competition in Bucharest, Romania, Saturday, April 14, 2018. More than 250 cats take part in the two-day competition in the Romanian capital. (Photo by Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo)

The Northern lights (aurora borealis) lights up the night sky above the Molenviergang in Aarlanderveen, the Netherlands, early on 11 May 2024. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of America has warned that the strongest geomagnetic storm for 20 years is set to hit Earth, making the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, visible at much lower geomagnetic latitudes than usual. (Photo by Josh Walet/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Maria Sakkara of Greece in action against Ann Li of the United States in her second round match at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open at the Khalifa International Tennis & Squash Complex on February 22, 2022 in Doha, Qatar (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 620 miles (1,000 km) from the South American continent, these 19 islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique “living museum and showcase of evolution”. Photo: “Close-up. We had a juvenile Red-Footed Booby come visit us on the sun deck. I got some closeups with my ultrawide 11-16mm Tokina”. (Photo by Carl Fredrickson)

SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, March 6, 2014. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launched from Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, for their third official Commercial Resupply (CRS) mission to the orbiting lab on April 18, 2014. Dragon returned to Earth with a parachute-assisted splashdown off the coast of southern California on May 14, 2014. Dragon is the only operational spacecraft capable of returning a significant amount of supplies back to Earth, including experiments. (Photo by Ron Lin/SpaceX Photos)

A visitor walks past an installation artwork entitled “Confuciuse” which combines the word “Confucius” and “confuse” in the contemporary art exhibition at “Fun and Art” Festival on December 13, 2008 in Xian of Shaanxi Province, China. (Photo by China Photos/Getty Images)