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Girls have been granted equal access to all school sports following a campaign by the Lionesses off the back of their historic Euro 2022 win. The UK government has pledged to provide schoolgirls with a minimum of two hours of physical activity a week and committed to a multi-million‑pound investment in school sports and after‑school activities. The announcement - made on International Women’s Day - has been described as a way of ensuring “girls have the same access to all their favourite sports as boys”.

🫶 Hope for people with endometriosis

Researchers are feeling hopeful that a potential new treatment for endometriosis will make a “huge difference” to those living with the often debilitating condition.

Tell me more.
The news comes ahead of a groundbreaking UK trial which will involve 100 women in Edinburgh and London and will assess whether the drug - dichloroacetate - helps relieve pain for endometriosis sufferers. If successful, it will be the first non-hormonal and non-surgical treatment for endometriosis.

The drug is thought to work by reducing the amount of lactate - a potentially harmful waste product - produced by the pelvic wall cells of people with endometriosis. As dichloroacetate is already licensed to treat various cancers, it has an established safety profile.

Remind me exactly what endometriosis is?
Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the womb grows elsewhere in the body. During a period, these cells also bleed, causing inflammation, pain and the formation of scar tissue. The condition can sometimes affect fertility too.

One in ten women of reproductive age are estimated to be living with endometriosis, and several celebrities - including Lena Dunham and Molly-Mae Hague - have spoken out about suffering from the condition.

What treatments currently exist?
Conventional pain relief, hormonal contraceptives and surgery are the current options available. But hormone-based treatments - such as the pill - are not suitable for everyone, and surgery is not always effective.

Moreover, a lack of awareness about the condition means that it takes on average eight years from the onset of symptoms to obtain a diagnosis. Long NHS waiting lists for treatments have also led some women to privately fund their surgeries, with one campaign group warning that this is causing people to get into debt.

Why is this the case?
Women’s healthcare is historically underfunded, despite women comprising around half of the population.

Last year, the government announced its first Women’s Health Strategy for England which vowed to tackle decades of “systematic” gender health inequality in England. This includes a focus on menstrual health and gynaecological conditions such as endometriosis, and has been widely welcomed by campaigners.

💟 What’s the point of International Women’s Day?

Happy International Women’s Day (IWD) to all our readers! With women’s rights repeatedly under attack, this annual event is a time to celebrate women’s achievements and draw attention to global gender inequalities.

How did IWD come about?
Historians don’t entirely agree on the day’s exact origin, but it has its roots in the twentieth-century labour movements of North America and Europe. The earliest version is thought to have been a “Women’s Day” rally organised by the Socialist Party in New York in 1909, which inspired demonstrations across Europe in 1911 - albeit on no set date.

When women gained the right to vote in Soviet Russia in 1917, Lenin made March 8 a national holiday. IWD was primarily celebrated in socialist countries until the mid-1970s, when the UN General Assembly proclaimed March 8 an official holiday for women’s rights and world peace.

By 2014, IWD was being celebrated in more than 100 countries and had been made an official holiday in more than 25.

What’s not to like about it?
Critics say the day has lost sight of its initial radical purpose in recent years and become too commercialised. Leading feminists have accused major corporations of hijacking the event to promote vague notions of equality and “purplewash” their brands.

Despite more and more companies officially marking IWD, the gender pay gap remains a major issue: a recent PwC study found that 18-year-old women starting work today will not see pay equality in their careers.

Surely it must do good, too?
While the day may have become more commercialised in recent years, campaigners stress that this shouldn’t take away from its core purpose: to advocate for a more equal future and to celebrate the achievements of women.

Although it’s hard to link tangible change to IWD, it’s an excellent opportunity for governments, organisations and individuals to raise public awareness of gender disparity. This can take the form of legislative change, important research, campaigning or powerful initiatives like the Gender Pay Gap Bot - an automated Twitter account which draws attention to a company’s (often striking) gender pay gap when they tweet messages of support for IWD.

Do we still need IWD?
The current backsliding on women’s rights around the world demonstrates why International Women’s Day is still needed in 2023. From the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the US, to the Iranian regime’s crackdown on women’s rights, the fight for gender equality is as critical and universal as ever.

📱 TikTok ban: The White House has backed a bill introduced by a dozen Republicans and Democrats in the Senate that would give Washington the power to ban TikTok in the US.

👑 Influence List 2023: The Independent has announced its annual ranking of women who excel in areas such as politics, culture, sport, business and the environment. Can you guess who topped the site’s list?

🪧 Strike latest: Sources have told The Mirror that a deal to settle the NHS industrial dispute for most workers could be reached by Thursday. The RMT union has also called off planned strike action at Network Rail on March 16 following a new pay offer.

🌿 Cannabis concerns: Doctors have issued a warning after a new YouGov poll found that 1.8 million people in the UK are using the illegal cannabis market to treat health conditions - up by 29% from 2019.

🍫 Cereal innovator: A new chocolatey breakfast cereal will be available in UK supermarkets from next month - Nestle says its KitKat Cereal “maintains the essence” of the popular chocolate bar.

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Trivia answer: B) Two million - Greggs sausage rolls (the chain’s star product) now cost a record £1.20 a pop.

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