What is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is a global holiday that has been celebrated on March 8th of every year since 1911. Some of the intentions behind the holiday include:

• Celebrating women’s accomplishments
• Breaking down gender barriers
• Discouraging discrimination
• Promoting women’s rights activism
• Encouraging allyship

Celebrating International Women’s Day authentically

When it comes to bringing International Women’s Day celebrations into the workplace, it’s important not to treat it like a frivolous holiday, but rather to embrace the impact that you can have on your employees by celebrating it in an empowering, authentic way.

Before planning any celebrations, you might first consider why we have a designated day for celebrating women in the first place. What have women’s struggles been throughout history, how have they been overcome and what work do we still need to do as a society to reach gender equality?

As of 2022, women earn 82% of what men earn, on average. Women do three times the amount of unpaid labor at home compared to men. Globally, women only have 75% of the legal rights afforded to men. These issues are serious and deserve thoughtful attention. International Women’s Day is about more than sharing an inspirational quote in a company-wide email or throwing a pizza party at the office.

Elevate women’s voices

When deciding on how to celebrate women’s day at work, consider sharing women’s stories directly.

This kind of celebration could look like bringing in guest speakers from various walks of life, industries or life experiences and having them give talks or presentations to your employees.

Another potential way to highlight women’s stories for International Women’s Day is to host a screening of a relevant documentary. Perhaps there’s a film that has a specific connection to your industry or that highlights an inspiring woman who you believe your employees would enjoy learning about.

You might also consider hosting a book club for the month of March, which is Women’s History Month. You might choose a title that tells an empowering story or, better yet, offer a few different options and have your employees vote on the book that they would like to read together.

Finally, try curating works from women artists and putting them on display in honor of International Women’s Day, sharing information about each artist and what their work means. This kind of celebration might be especially impactful if your business has strong creative ties.

Create safe spaces for connection

If you want to celebrate International Women’s Day in a way that feels connected to the workplace, consider hosting a women’s networking event at your place of business.

By helping women grow their professional networks, you can help combat the struggles that women face to reach equity in the workplace.

Encourage positive action

Depending on how proactive you would like your organization to be, you could consider celebrating International Women’s Day by promoting political causes that you stand behind.

For example, you could educate your employees about a bill in Congress that you believe would be beneficial to women or take it a step further and encourage employees to contact their representatives in support of such a bill.

Look through a historical lens

Because International Women’s Day falls during Women’s History Month, it’s an excellent time to reflect on different women and events throughout history that propelled us to where we are today.

Consider celebrating Women’s Day at work by tapping into that historical background. Perhaps you could create a presentation that zooms in on a particular topic in women’s history that feels especially relevant to your workplace. You could also consider bringing in a guest speaker with niche historical knowledge that you believe would be useful for your employees.

Promote meaningful dialogue

In honor of International Women’s Day, you could arrange for your employees to discuss what the day means to them among themselves. You could host small group talks where employees share inspiring stories of women in their lives or histories. You could also encourage women to share stories of how they have overcome struggles in the workplace and the kind of support they feel they need to continue to thrive.

When hosting these kinds of talks, it could be helpful to have skilled mediators in place to support your employees and guide the conversations to the most helpful, empowering places.

Give thoughtful gifts

If you want your employees to have a way to remember your International Women’s Day celebrations, consider giving them a meaningful gift as a memento of the day.

When sourcing gifts, you might consider buying specifically from women-owned businesses that manufacture their items safely and sustainably.

You could give gifts that your employees can use in the office, such as a mug or reusable water bottle. Customized merchandise that speaks specifically to International Women’s Day, women’s empowerment or a cause that your company stands for is also a creative option.

Provide education about allyship

In order to reach gender equality, it’s important to have allies of all genders commit to the cause. Consider holding informational sessions about how to be an ally in the women’s rights movement, so men in your company feel empowered to speak up and act out in support of gender equality, both at the workplace and outside of work.

This kind of celebration helps emphasize the fact that there is still work to be done and that everyone can lend a hand in the fight for women’s rights across the globe.

Show employee appreciation

Consider using International Women’s Day as an opportunity to recognize women leaders in your organization and share their stories with the rest of your company as a way of showing the company’s appreciation for their efforts.

Support charitable causes

Publicly announcing a donation from your company in support of a cause that benefits women can give your employees and your customers a clear indication that women’s rights are important to you and your business.

Taking a meaningful stand in this way shows you are serious about not just the holiday of International Women’s Day, but also the true meaning behind it.

Ask for honest feedback

After your International Women’s Day celebrations have concluded, consider asking your employees for feedback about what they liked or how you can improve your workplace celebrations for next year.

Ask for this feedback via an anonymous survey or encourage employees to reach out to you directly and have a dialogue about what they would like to see in future International Women’s Day celebrations.

By encouraging employees to be open and honest, you can learn the most about how you can better serve them in the future and improve your company culture as a whole.