Credit: Pikisuperstar via Freepik
This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) is rapidly approaching, and during a time when DEI programs are steadily being rolled back, discussing diversity is needed now more than ever. International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8th and blossomed from a women’s labour movement. In 1908, 15,000 women marched for shorter working hours, improved pay, and the right to vote. A year after the march, National Woman’s Day was born. However, it wouldn’t reach global recognition until the United Nations marked it as an event in 1975. Overall, the day’s main purpose is not only to celebrate women but to also push against barriers and biases that still, to this day, create inequity, such as the disproportionate amount of women facing burnout or the increase in climate change impacting women’s futures.
International Takes on Women’s Day
Ways of recognizing IWD differ between countries. In the US, the entire month of March is Women’s History Month, when organizations celebrate and remember the vital role women have played throughout history. In Slavic countries, women are given roses, with flower sales usually doubling, and in China, women are often granted a shorter working day and given small gifts as a token of gratitude. Corporations participate in various ways as well, with many creating social media posts or advertisements acknowledging the day. For example, Hershey’s social media started the campaign #HerSHE, and Target showcased products all created by women (all with links attached on how to buy them from your local Target).
However, this branding is sometimes seen as performative and can be considered pinkwashing, which is when a company uses advocacy to improve their image and increase sales rather than through any genuine desire to improve conditions for women.
Achieving Equality for Future Generations
Every year, IWD is given a theme that most events center around, with this year being Accelerate Action. On the IWD site, they state that it would take a total of five generations, or until the year 2158, to reach full gender equality at the current rate of progress. This year’s goal is, as a collective, to help speed up the rate of progress. This means participating in more than just a capitalist pinkwashing ad campaign for one month out of the year.
Everyone has the ability to take action, big or small, and build a future world where women have a place to flourish and be successful. Corporations are key to accelerating this progress. Software companies like Flywire and EngageSmart and insurance company Liberty Mutual are hosting company-wide events with women guest speakers. EngageSmart even created a women’s ERG for IWD in 2024. According to IWD’s Women at Work mission, progress in the workplace has stalled. This means company-wide initiatives, ERGs, and DEI programs are needed more than ever in 2025. The overall mission for this year is to create an inclusive workplace that helps women strive in their careers, both lowering the gender pay gap and ending this stagnant period for progress.
But What Can One Person Do?
For individuals, IWD offers countless opportunities to get involved, including both virtual and in-person events like the TiEr1 leadership panel, hosted by women CEOs. But beyond events, real changes begin when we tackle bias, and some would say this starts in the home. Sharing household labour and dismantling traditional norms by understanding the value women have in our lives is the perfect way to tear down the inequitable foundation our home lives and workplaces are built on.
By taking these intentional steps towards gender equality in our daily lives, we can have a meaningful impact in our communities and accelerate progress.
Everyone is welcome! We offer DEI programs tailored to meet the needs of all experience levels—find out more about our workshops here.
