Apple Quietly Removed International Women's Day from Its Calendar App — Why?

It’s been mere months since Donald Trump took office as the 47th president of the U.S., and already we’ve seen the Gulf of Mexico renamed to the Gulf of America. Companies like Google have reportedly started scrubbing their calendars of major annual events like Pride Month, keeping only public holidays and national observances. While this caught attention in 2025, a Google spokesperson explained to The Verge that these changes were actually implemented in mid-2024.

The company claims it found it difficult to keep up with the new events being added and realized it wasn’t "scalable or sustainable."

That was in February 2025, and now, in March, Apple is being called out for quietly removing International Women’s Day from its calendar. The holiday, which falls on March 8 every year, no longer appears on Apple’s calendar, sparking backlash from users who are demanding an explanation. Here’s everything you need to know.

Apple didn’t announce the removal of International Women’s Day from its calendar nor provide an explanation for why it was taken off. However, it seems Apple removing the day is simply the company following the direction of Trump’s January 2025 executive order calling for the end of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. After all, a day dedicated solely to women could be seen as discriminatory in the eyes of the current U.S. president.

Of course, a more ethical explanation could be the same reason the Google spokesperson provided in their statement to The Verge in February 2025: they just couldn’t keep up with the ever-growing list of annual events arising around the world. So, instead of keeping track, they took a simpler approach and stopped recognizing major events altogether.

While either of these seems to be the most logical explanation, Apple’s bold calendar modification has led people to draw their own conclusions. Many believe the removal of the female-celebrated event is part of a larger attack on women’s rights.

Overturning Roe v. Wade was the first major step in the wrong direction for women’s rights, and the push to cut budgets that could directly impact Medicaid spending — a program widely known for helping women, children, and expectant mothers — only adds to the concerns.

Influencer Liz Plank, who describes herself as a "feminist who loves men," has been quite vocal about Apple’s decision to remove International Women’s Day from its calendar. In a Substack post criticizing the move, she stated, "Apple didn’t do this because they forgot about women. They did this because they’re afraid of men."

Liz went on to say that Apple "bent the knee to a fascist movement that punishes anyone who acknowledges that women exist as more than side characters in a man’s origin story." Her post wasn’t just a critique of Apple — it was a stand for women, highlighting the men behind these policies who are trying to rewrite history, and not in a good way.

Since then, several other women have voiced their thoughts on Apple’s decision, and none of them understand it, let alone are pleased with it.