International Women’s Day is celebrated on 8 March globally, marking a day to support and highlight women’s rights across the world.
Since it began over 100 years ago, International Women’s Day has seen thousands of events celebrating women’s achievements, encouraging equality, and inspiring younger generations. It’s a wonderful reminder of what women can achieve in their lifetime.
Here are some ideas for you and your teams to celebrate International Women’s Day and what your business can do to advocate for gender equality.
Go social and support the #ChooseToChallenge theme
The official theme this year is #ChooseToChallenge. It’s a call-to-action to challenge the status quo. Simply involve your teams to take part in this years’ social media campaign and encourage your colleagues to talk about what International Women’s Day means to them and what would they “choose to challenge” either in a workplace environment or generally outside of work.
Champion gender equality within your work culture
No doubt most companies would already have specific HR policies which focus on creating inclusive working environments. However, this is a prime opportunity to review policies and ensure the women in your business do receive fair and equal support. HR policies should address equality around diversity, flexible working, leadership opportunities and equal training.
Host a virtual panel to celebrate
Organise a get together and invite women to share their personal experiences, their journey through life and career and what advice they can give to others. This will give your employees something to look forward to and will inspire change and confidence in others. Often the best way to feel inspired is by listening to someone’s journey and taking away little nuggets for yourself.
Here at Virgin Incentives, we took the opportunity to catch-up with our Chief Customer Officer, Danni Rush to ask what International Women’s Day meant for her. Here’s what Danni shared:
“For me, International Women’s day is about supporting all women, in all aspects of life, home and work, to achieve their goals and dream big. 21 years ago, I was a 16 year old girl, just finished school, just given birth to my son, Harry, and was so scared about what my life would be like in the future. There was a lot of negativity around being a teenage mum, but this inspired me to dream big, embrace the challenge and really own my future.
I’ve been lucky to have been surrounded by super supportive and inspirational women and men all my life, people that pushed me hard but also gave me hope that I could achieve any goal I set for myself. I set aside time to make sure I give my children, family, friends and colleagues the same support – it’s one of the most rewarding things in life to see people you have been able to guide, advise or inspire, achieve their dreams, whatever they may be.”
