This upcoming Sunday, March 8th, 2015, will be the first annual Bitcoin Women’s Day, an event designed to highlight and promote the accomplishments of women within the Bitcoin community. The event takes place on the same day as International Women’s Day, which has been around since the 1900s and is a recognized holiday by the U.N.

The Bitcoin community rises out of a highly technical population, which in recent history often skews heavily male. If last year’s 99Bitcoins survey is any indication, women represent only 8% of Bitcoin users.

“March 8th is the launch of Bitcoin Women’s Day, a global campaign to champion women’s achievements in digital currency,” said Bitcoin Women’s Day Organizer Sarah Boone Martin, CEO of Boone Martin, in an interview with CryptoCoinNews.

Sponsorship for this event comes from numerous Bitcoin industry leaders including BitPay, The Digital Currency Council, The Bitcoin Foundation, TatianaCoin, ChangeTip, and The Chamber of Digital Currency.

Citing examples of women in Bitcoin, Martin said, “Just take a look the ladies leading Bitcoin Women’s Day. BitPay’s Elizabeth Ploshay, ChangeTip’s Victoria Van Eyk, the Bitcoin Foundation’s Jinyoung Englund, the Chamber of Digital Commerce’s Perianne Boring, and Tatiana Coin founder Tatiana Moroz.”

Yet another example is Connie Gallippi, founder and executive director of the BitGive Foundation, who started the #BitcoinGivingTuesday hashtag campaign in 2014. The BitGive Foundation is also a well known charitable group who have partnered with Save The Children, The Water Project, Medic Mobile, and others.

The Bitcoin community also has women such as Naomi Brockwell, aka “Bitcoin Girl,” working to advocate for Bitcoin by raising public awareness of the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin emerged as a technology in 2009 and has seen over six years of growth. If the community and technology are to have any impact on the world women cannot be left behind. While the presence of women in Bitcoin has been woefully underrepresented, women are most certainly participating and supporting their successes promotes well-being and recognition for the entire community.

Martin says that she’s excited for Bitcoin Women’s Day and is inspired by how well the idea has caught on. She doesn’t believe there is necessarily anything gendered about Bitcoin, so the event surrounding Bitcoin Women’s Day, while about women’s advocacy, is for everyone.

“Bitcoin Women’s Day is a chance to talk to more people–men and women, lawyers, bankers, tech and finance pros–about this rapidly growing industry,” Martin said. ”Tell your friends and family. I’d like my dad to use Bitcoin. Then I’d know that Bitcoin is booming.”

To spread the word, tweet a message of support for Bitcoin Women’s Day to: @womensday. Be sure to use the hashtags: #MakeItHappen, #BitcoinWomensDay, and #IWD2015.

Image credit: Image credit: Portrait of Sarah Martin, CEO of Boone Martin via LinkedIn; and Naomi Brockwell, “The Bitcoin Girl.”