International Women’s Day in Amsterdam is on 8 March every year, and the next one falls on Monday 8 March 2027; it is not a public holiday in the Netherlands, so shops, offices and schools keep their normal hours.
The city marks the day with talks, museum tours, gatherings for women and a march in the centre, and the Dutch story of women’s rights has strong Amsterdam roots.
When is International Women’s Day 2027?
International Women’s Day is always on 8 March.
In 2027 that is a Monday, and in 2028 it is a Wednesday.
The 2027 Amsterdam programme has not been announced yet.
Is it a day off?
No.
The Dutch government’s list of official holidays is New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter, King’s Day, Liberation Day, Ascension Day, Whitsun and Christmas, and International Women’s Day is not on it.
Even on the official holidays there is no law that gives employees the day off; that depends on your contract or collective labour agreement.
Where the day comes from
The idea of an international women’s day came from the Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen in 1910, to support the campaign for women’s right to vote.
It was first marked in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland, where more than a million people attended rallies.
The date of 8 March is linked to 1917, when women in Russia went on strike for bread and peace on what was 8 March in the Gregorian calendar.
The United Nations began marking the day in 1975 and officially recognised it in 1977.
The Amsterdam story: Aletta Jacobs and the vote
Aletta Jacobs, born in 1854, was the first woman to attend a Dutch university when she entered the University of Groningen in 1871.
She received her medical doctorate on 8 March 1879, the same calendar date that later became International Women’s Day.
That year she opened her own practice for women and girls on the Herengracht in Amsterdam.
She also gave free consultations twice a week to poor women in the Jordaan, and in 1882 she founded the first birth control clinic in the Netherlands.
In 1883 she tried to register as a voter in Amsterdam and was turned down, and from 1903 to 1919 she led the Dutch association for women’s suffrage.
Dutch women won the right to stand for election in 1917, and Suze Groeneweg became the first woman elected to the Lower House in 1918.
The right to vote followed in 1919, and women voted in a national election for the first time in 1922, when seven women were elected to the Lower House.
Aletta Jacobs was 68 years old when she cast her first vote that year.
For the wider picture, our Amsterdam history timeline puts these events in context.
Atria, the women’s history archive
Atria, the Dutch knowledge institute for emancipation and women’s history, holds the archives of the women’s movement.
It was based at Vijzelstraat 20 in Amsterdam until 2026, when its lease ended and it moved to a former courthouse at Hamburgerstraat 28A in Utrecht.
Its reading room is open by appointment from Tuesday to Thursday, 11:00 to 17:00, and much of the collection can be searched online.
What usually happens in Amsterdam on 8 March
Here is what took place in 2026, as an example of what to expect.
A Feminist March, organised by a coalition of organisations including Amnesty International Netherlands, Atria and the trade union FNV, gathered on the Dam at 13:00 and walked via the Rokin, the Vijzelstraat and the Weteringschans to Museumplein, ending around 16:00.
Mayor Femke Halsema hosted a conference called Women Unite at Carré, mostly in English, and tickets sold out.
Pakhuis de Zwijger held a free evening called Femtopia on 6 March.
Smaller free events took place across the city, including a women’s café with music and poetry in Oud-Zuid, an afternoon of DJ sets in Amsterdam Noord, a women-focused tour at Museum Van Loon and a talk on women’s health at ARTIS-Groote Museum.
If you would rather explore on your own, the city’s museums are a good way to spend the day; our guide to Amsterdam’s museums and attractions and the Museumkaart calculator help you choose.
Events for women all year round
You do not have to wait for 8 March.
Our What’s On calendar has listed 142 events with women or vrouw in the title between July 2026 and February 2027, from free Friday drinks for women new to Amsterdam to a Buildings by Women cycle tour and a free women’s clothing exchange on the Kalverstraat.
Other examples include That’s What She Said, an evening of networking and comedy for women, and a Women of Amsterdam walking tour.
Check the What’s On calendar in late February 2027 for the International Women’s Day events as they are announced, or try one of our self-guided walking tours.
More dates in the Amsterdam year: Halloween, Chinese New Year, Father’s Day, the public holidays calendar and What’s On in Amsterdam.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is International Women’s Day 2027?
International Women’s Day is always on 8 March; in 2027 that is a Monday and in 2028 a Wednesday.
Is International Women’s Day a public holiday in the Netherlands?
No, it is not on the Dutch government’s list of official holidays, so it is a normal working and school day.
What happens in Amsterdam on International Women’s Day?
In 2026 there was a march from the Dam to Museumplein, a conference at Carré hosted by the mayor, and smaller talks, tours and gatherings at museums and venues across the city; the 2027 programme has not been announced yet.
When did Dutch women get the vote?
Dutch women could stand for election from 1917 and won the right to vote in 1919; they first voted in a national election in 1922.
Who was Aletta Jacobs?
She was the first woman to attend a Dutch university and the first Dutch woman to earn a medical doctorate, opened a practice in Amsterdam in 1879 and led the campaign for women’s suffrage from 1903 to 1919.
Sources
- United Nations: International Women’s Day background
- Rijksoverheid: official holidays
- Atria: women’s suffrage in the Netherlands
- Atria: International Women’s Day 2026 events
- NH Nieuws: International Women’s Day in Amsterdam, 2026
- Aletta Jacobs (Wikipedia)
- Atria
- DUIC: Atria moves to the old Utrecht courthouse
Photo: Women marching with purple scarves on International Women’s Day by Montse Posada, Pexels licence, via Pexels.
