The 2025 theme for International Women’s Day is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” It calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind.

Jia Yi, a documentary filmmaker, curator and mother of three children, talks with UNFPA about becoming a mother and how motherhood made her an advocate for women.

First time being a mother

It was early 2005. I was 28, studying journalism abroad as a graduate student. At the time, I was traveling for a project I was passionate about — interviewing and filming subjects — but I felt unusually exhausted during the trip. Later, during a routine checkup, I discovered I was pregnant!

My graduate project was filmed while I was six months pregnant with my eldest. I traveled to Sichuan’s Daliang Mountains in China to document a female community volunteer.

Looking back, I realize how naive and fearless I was — climbing rain-soaked hills while pregnant. But journalism was my passion, and I embraced the challenge.

Career choices

My first job centered on women’s issues. Being a journalist was my dream, but being a mother profoundly reshaped my career path.

Without my first child, I might have chosen a job requiring constant travel. However, my husband and I lived apart at the time, leaving me as the primary caregiver. I had to compromise. My second job felt like the best choice I could make as a new mother.

After my second child, I realized I did need a break from the grind of office life and returned to China. I tried to start a business and during the process I had my third child.

It seems every pregnancy coincided with a major life project: filming my graduate thesis with my first child, launching a Chinese version of an international parenting platform while pregnant with my second child, and starting a new business during my third pregnancy.

Voices of motherhood

Accepting my identity as a woman — and specifically as a mother — took time. Motherhood reshaped my life and career in ways I never anticipated, demanding patience to adapt.

I eventually became a documentary filmmaker, drawn to the freedom of the medium. Through my lens, I explore the everyday stories of mothers. I want to understand how other women navigate this journey, what motherhood truly means, and to ensure this group is seen and valued.

Family support — especially from a partner — is crucial in balancing parenthood and ambition. I hope my films help women visualize motherhood’s realities: the endless tasks, fragmented time, and emotional weight. For male viewers, I hope they gain deeper appreciation for their partners or colleagues who are mothers, fostering empathy when life occasionally pulls these women away from work.