A TV soap, the Scottish Parliament and the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) all have something in common today as they do their own thing to mark International Women’s Day.

The day is a global recognition of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, which will also see a call for action to accelerate gender parity. This year’s theme is #balanceforbetter, stressing the importance of encouraging gender balance in areas such as the workplace, boardrooms and media.

A packed event at Inverness College UHI will discuss how gender equality is promoted and investigate what else can be done to address challenges female staff may face.

Organiser Alex Walker, from the university’s Learning and Teaching Academy, said: “International Women’s Day is important for the university as it provides the opportunity to explore how we can better promote gender equality in education, research and professional services for our colleagues and students.”

Deborah Halliday, a geography student at Inverness College UHI, added: “The geography BSc degree programme has helped me to develop a strong interest in the rural sector.

“Its provision of various engaging field trips in the Scottish Highlands and further afield (Switzerland) has opened my eyes to the importance of environmental protection which has helped fuel my interest in pursuing a career in the rural sector.

“I feel that it is important more young women and young people in general know more about the opportunities the rural sector has to offer and I am a strong supporter of environmental education at all education levels.”

More than 400 women will take over the Scottish Parliament tomorrow to mark the day and 20 years since the birth of Holyrood, to highlight some of the achievements that women have won over the past two decades. Linda Fabiani, deputy presiding officer, who is one of the speakers, said: “This event is very much a celebration of what women have achieved over the past 20 years since the Scottish Parliament was established and there is much to be proud of in terms of our both our collective and individual achievements.

“But it is clear there is still more to be done and I look forward to chairing what promises to be an interesting and inspiring debate about the future of equality for women in politics.”

Elaine C Smith, actor and chair of the Scottish Independence Convention, said: “Women and their political involvement have changed the face of politics and society over the past 50 years and it is always a good thing to remind ourselves of how far we have come and to recognise the women (and men) who have done so much and fought so hard to make these changes possible.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon added: “One of my first priorities was to appoint a gender balanced Cabinet – at the time one of only three in the world – to demonstrate the importance of equal representation. Since then we have taken bold action including legislation for 50% women’s representation on public boards.”

In soap world, tonight’s Emmerdale is a female-only episode, which was also was written, produced, directed and recorded by a female-led crew.

Actress Emma Atkins, who plays Charity Dingle, said her character is “on a mission” in the episode, and that her scenes “will have a significant impact going forward”.