The first International Women's Day gathering took place in 1911, but the event had been brewing for a few years. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City, demanding shorter work hours, better pay and voting rights. One year later, women across the U.S. began commemorating National Woman's Day. Clara Zetkin, leader of the "Women's Office" for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, proposed to the 100 attendees from 17 countries that women all over the world should unite in global solidarity each year on the same day to push for equality.