IN PICTURES: Women at work around the world

March 8 marks International Women's Day, with festivals, concerts and exhibitions among the numerous events planned around the world to celebrate the achievements of women in society.

The annual event has been held since the early 1900s and traditionally promotes a different theme each year, with this year's edition calling on people to #BeBoldForChange and push for a more gender-inclusive working world.

Reuters photographers have been speaking with women in a range of professions around the world about their experiences of gender inequality.

Shinto priest Tomoe Ichino, 40, poses for a photograph at the Imado Shrine in Tokyo, Japan, February 22, 2017. "In general, people think being a Shinto priest is a man's profession. If you're a woman, they think you're a shrine maiden or a supplementary priestess. People don't know women Shinto priests exist, so they think we can't perform rituals. Once, after I finished performing jiichinsai (ground-breaking ceremony), I was asked, 'So, when is the priest coming?'", Ichino said. "When I first began working as a Shinto priest, because I was young and female, some people felt the blessing was different. They thought: 'I would have preferred your grandfather.' At first, I wore my grandfather's light green garment because I thought it's better to look like a man. But after a while, I decided to be proud of the fact that I am a female priest and I began wearing a pink robe, like today. I thought I can be more confident if I stop thinking too much (about my gender).

Emilie Jeannin, 37, a cow breeder, poses for a photograph with her Charolais cows in Beurizot, France, February 21, 2017. "Once I could not help laughing when an agricultural advisor asked me, where the boss was, when I was standing right in front of him. I can assure you that the meeting got very quickly cut short!" Jeannin said." Being a breeder is seen as a man's job. In the past women were usually doing the administrative work or low-level tasks. People need to be more open-minded. This change needs to happen everywhere not just on the fields."

Yanis Reina, 30, a gas station attendant, poses for a photograph at a gas station in Caracas, Venezuela February 24, 2017. "No doubt this is a job initially intended for men because you have to be standing on the street all your shift, it is dirty, greasy and there is always a strong gasoline smell. I have to adapt the pants of my uniform because they are men's and make me look weird but I adore my work. My clients are like my relatives, they come here every day and we chat a couple of minutes while the tank is being filled. They come every day because they feel safer to be served by a woman," Reina said. "With the difficult situation that we have in Venezuela, having a job that covers your expenses is almost a luxury, but beyond that, I'm very proud of my job. I believe that now we, the women, have to be the warriors," Reina said.

Swiss President and Minister of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Doris Leuthard, 54, poses for a photograph on top of a roof next to the Swiss Parliament in Bern, Switzerland February 24, 2017. Leuthard said she still sees gender inequality occur in the workplace. "Salaries. The differences between wages of men and women can be up to 20 percent. It happens to many women. Transparency helps, discussions about salaries are important. In upper management and leading positions in politics, we still seem to be the minority. I encourage women to work on their career

Laila Sterk, 22, a Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) female fighter, poses for a photograph in the northeastern Syrian city of Hasaka, Syria, February 26, 2017. "Before becoming a fighter, I was suffering from inequality in society. But after joining the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), I didn't encounter that anymore," said Sterk. "This is due to the fact that when men want to join the SDF they attend educational courses about women fighting alongside them. Therefore the woman fighter leads the military campaigns just like any man."

Phung Thi Hai, 54, carries bricks at a factory outside Hanoi, Vietnam, February 27, 2017. Hai is among a group of 25 women working at a brick factory where she has to move 3,000 bricks a day to the kiln. "How unfair that a 54-year-old woman like me has to work and take care of the whole family. With the same work, male labourers can get a better income. Not only me, all women in the village work very hard with no education, no insurance and no future," Hai said.

Lejla Selimovic, 34, a furniture restorer, poses for a photograph at her workshop Wood Surgery in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, February 24, 2017. "In my country, this is an unusual profession for a woman, but so far I have not met anyone seeing it in a negative context. People are often surprised, but essentially only interested in a job well done," she said.

Christine Akoth, 38, a metal painter, poses for a photograph in Kenya's capital Nairobi, February 27, 2017. "I have experienced gender bias at my work where sometimes I'm denied contracts because of who I am and maybe my marital status. Some female colleagues have been treated unfairly because of their sex and even exploited," Akoth said.

Yolaina Chavez Talavera, 31, a firefighter, poses for a photograph in front of a truck at a fire station in Managua, Nicaragua, February 22, 2017. "In my early days as a female firefighter, men, my teammates, thought that I would not last long in the organisation due to the hard training. However, in practice I showed them that I am able to take on tasks at the same level as men. I think women must fight to break through in all areas, in the midst of the machismo that still persists in Nicaragua and in Hispanic countries," Talavera sai

Ekaterine Kvlividze, 30, a military pilot captain, poses for a photograph in front of a Georgian Air Force UH-1H helicopter in Tbilisi, Georgia, February 22, 2017. Kvlividze joined the Georgian Air Forces in 2007. "There were some difficulties at the beginning, I felt some irony, cynicism. I felt they did not appreciate me. But, thank God, during the last 10 years society has changed and nowadays a woman pilot is a normal thing."

 

Mehwish Ekhlaque, 26, a bike rider and trainer, poses for a photograph with her bike in Karachi, Pakistan, February 28, 2017. "When I planned a Pakistan Bike Tour many of my male colleagues gave me a piece of advice not to do it as it's neither safe nor easy for a woman. But I did it," Ekhlaque said.