Today is International Women’s Day and is marked every year worldwide on the 8th March as a celebration of all of the wonderful women in society. Each year, there is a different theme and for 2022, and as advised earlier the theme is #BreakTheBias, which is asking us to envision a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination.
Every year for IWD, it is important to understand how to create a gender-balanced world where men and women have equal opportunities and are treated fairly. International Women’s Day is an opportunity for businesses to participate in the conversation and understand how they as an organisation can ensure they are focused on gender parity and promoting equality for female and male employees.
Below are our top tips for celebrating today and this week for International Women’s Day and why it is beneficial for your organisation to do so.
Encourage your teams to get involved with the #BreakTheBias photo challenge
The theme this year is #Breakthebias, and this year the organisers of IWD are asking organisations to get involved in the campaign by encouraging teams to take a photo of themselves striking the IWD 2022 pose and share your #BreakTheBias image, video or any other content across social media using the hashtags #IWD2022 and #BreakTheBias. The pose for this year is to cross your arms to show solidarity. Encourage members of your organisation to get involved with this.
Offer or encourage attendance of online panel events
As most events will take place virtually instead of in-person, there are plenty of great online events planned for International Women’s Day with greater opportunity to attend them as they can be attended virtually.
Research some interesting events in your industry or community and encourage your staff to attend.
Check out the International Women’s Day Event Showcase Page where you can browse events listed across the world with a range of fantastic speakers.
Run an event to celebrate female employees
A virtual coffee morning is a simple meet up you can organise on IWD to bond and catch up in the work setting. You can use the opportunity to discuss this year’s theme and get everyone to share their experiences about the inspirational woman in their life or someone in the public eye they admire.
Review your internal EDI strategy
While most of the suggested activities are more short-term, it is crucial that you don’t forget that the long-term is what truly matters. While these activities shine the light on the importance of women, what is most important is advocating a change in mindset for a better future.
As HR and business leaders, you have a critical role in this – and you can play your part in pushing for more women in leadership positions and lobby for better pay to ensure gender equality in your organisation.
While gender parity is still quite a bit away, you can still take steps to move in the right direction and IWD is a great opportunity to start those discussions and implement long-term changes.
For additional support and information on how to support and celebrate women in the workplace, seek an independent HR advisor for guidance.
