Käte Duncker was a German activist and politician elected to the regional parliament of Thuringia in 1921. She is most well known for her involvement in proposing a resolution to the International Socialist Woman’s Congress in 1910, calling for a special day for woman to be created. This day would help promote equal rights for women across the world, including calling awareness to discrimination in employment based on gender and universal woman’s suffrage. Eventually this day would become known as International Woman’s Day, a holiday celebrated every year on March 8th. Born in 1871, Duncker grew up in Thurigina, Germany where she would later become a school teacher. As a young woman, she attended a political meeting with activist Clara Zetkin, which greatly influenced her own political activism. She would join Germanys’ Social Democratic Party and, using her skills as a teacher, lectured both youth groups and senior members of the party. Her goal was to pursue a campaign for peace admit the backdrop of World War 1. Following a split of the Social Democratic Party, Duncker would later join the Communist Party of Germany, where she was elected to her seat in the local parliament. During her time in office, she sought to bring more access to day care for parents as well as higher quality services to education in Germany. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, members of the Communist Party of Germany became prime targets for the Nazi regime. Dunker would flee to the United States and in 1936 take up residence in New York City. In her later life she would return to Soviet controlled Germany, where she lived the remainder of her life until 1953. Käte Duncker’s activism for women's and family rights, as well as her steadfast pursuit of peace have lead to her receiving acclaim even to this day. She stands as an inspiration for all young women who seek to make the world a more peaceful and equal place.

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