How to Celebrate International Women's Day at Work

International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8th is more than a calendar moment. It’s a chance to pause and honestly assess workplace equity. HR teams are often tasked with leading IWD celebrations and initiatives. And as 75.5% of HR managers in the US are women, many people leaders understand first-hand why this work matters. 

As with any awareness moment, there’s a risk of performative gestures or one-size-fits-all approaches. To avoid that risk, here are six practical, inclusive ways to celebrate IWD across organizations of all sizes and cultures. Plus, why this day still matters, how to ensure International Women’s Day celebrations are inclusive, and ways to empower women beyond one day of recognition. 

Why International Women’s Day Matters at Work 

“Despite decades of progress, women still don’t enjoy equal rights or protections in many workplaces,” said Dr. Enya Doyle, also known as The Harassment Doctor™, a leading consultant on harassment prevention and workplace culture. “Pay gaps persist, access to leadership is unequal, and harassment or discrimination remains underreported and underaddressed.”

Doyle added that many women, especially Black, queer, and disabled women, continue to bear the emotional and career cost of unsafe or biased environments. “Leaders still overlook that IWD isn’t just a celebration — it’s a reminder that legal protections, equitable policies, and structural safeguards are far from complete. It’s an annual reminder to recommit to confronting the rights women are still denied across a broad range of issues, including fair pay, safety, career advancement, and the ability to work without fear or bias.”

Nicole Johnston, company culture expert and founder of Innate Power, said that many organizations avoid conversations around “power, bias, performance calibration, caregiving penalties, pregnancy stigma, and sponsorship gaps.” In many workplaces, she explained that these dynamics are still very much alive. 

Johnston noted that when IWD is treated as a morale event instead of a strategic checkpoint on equity, organizations miss its real value. “It should be a moment of accountability, not just appreciation,” she explained. 

Megan Fuciarelli, a leadership advisor and founder of US² Consulting, who supports organizations moving from symbolic gestures to measurable impact, added that what HR leaders sometimes overlook is that IWD is not primarily a celebration. “It is a credibility moment. Employees are watching to see whether the organization’s stated commitment to equity is reflected in data, policy, and leadership behavior. Without structural follow-through, even well-intended recognition can feel disconnected from lived experience.”

For HR and people leaders, the relevance goes beyond a single day. When IWD efforts are tied to company values, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) strategy, and employee listening programs, they have the potential to strengthen trust, improve employee engagement, and reinforce that equity is an ongoing priority, not a seasonal initiative. 

To avoid performative gestures, tokenism, or surface-level acknowledgement, organizations need initiatives that are meaningful, actionable, and tied to real change. 

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6 Ways to Celebrate IWD at Work 

Done right, IWD is an opportunity to recognize the achievements of women, reflect on pay equity progress, and connect celebration to actionable change. But meaningful initiatives must connect visibility to action, said Fuciarelli.

“A meaningful effort pairs recognition with measurable commitments, such as publishing gender representation data, reviewing pay equity, funding leadership development, or adjusting promotion processes,” added Fuciarelli. In contrast, she added that a performative effort might spotlight accomplishments for a day. “The difference is accountability,” she explained. “Employees can tell when celebration is symbolic versus when it signals real change.”

If IWD requires unpaid labor from the very group it seeks to celebrate, it undermines its own purpose.

And with that in mind, here are six ways to celebrate IWD that focus on meaningful change, not empty platitudes. 

1. Employee Spotlights and Panels

Highlighting women’s voices through spotlights and panels is a powerful way to share journeys and inspire action. Invite women at the company to share their career journeys, or host a panel with internal or guest speakers. 

To focus these events on meaningful change:

• Connect discussions to concrete organizational initiatives. For example, share data on pay equity efforts, promotion trends, or gender representation.
• Encourage panelists to explore actionable steps HR and leadership could take to remove barriers they’ve experienced.
• Follow up with internal communications summarizing insights and commitments, so the conversation doesn’t end after the event. 
• Be sure to compensate them for the work they’re doing beyond their regular job descriptions.

2. Workshops or Learning Sessions

Learning-focused initiatives can foster allyship while also signaling commitment to structural change. But the key is to ensure sessions don’t stop at awareness but also drive change.

Well-designed workshops and learning sessions are a great opportunity to move beyond celebrating past progress towards assessing any remaining gaps. Doyle added that these conversations should include practical steps “like conducting pay reviews, creating meaningful policies and processes on gender-based violence, menstruation and menopause, or addressing childcare costs.”

She added that these conversations don’t just have to be completed by March 8. “Committing to even one of these could make a practical difference to many women in your company,” said Doyle. 

3. Book Clubs or Film Discussions

Discussions around books and films that recognize women’s history or feature inspiring women can spark dialogue around equity issues. To make these actionable:

• Tie discussions to company policies.
• Encourage participants to explore actionable changes inspired by the book or film.
• Summarize takeaways and share next steps with the entire organization, so discussions feel actionable rather than symbolic.

📚Some books to consider including:

• Boldly Belong: The Power of Being You in a Disabling Society by Julie Harris
• Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah-Wynn Williams 
• Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan 
• Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez 
• Right Within: How to Heal From Racial Trauma in the Workplace by Minda Harts 
• Taboo Topics by Nicole Johnston 

🎥Some films to consider including:

• ‍Picture a Scientist ‍
• Miss Representation ‍
• He Named Me Malala

4. Support Women-Owned Businesses

External recognition, like showing support for local women-owned businesses, can focus on meaningful impact by:

• Partnering with women-owned vendors in ways that create lasting business relationships, not one-off events. For example, choosing a women-owned business to cater business breakfasts moving forward.
• Integrating procurement policies that prioritize women-owned businesses in the long-term.
• Featuring regular vendor spotlights in internal communications, raising awareness of women-owned businesses that employees might not know about.
• Hosting a small business fair for employees to share their side-hustles and entrepreneurial pursuits.

5. Social Media Campaigns or Slack Takeovers

Employee storytelling can foster recognition, but to avoid performative campaigns:

• Use campaigns to raise awareness of systemic barriers, or ask employees to suggest ideas for change.
• Encourage employees to share gratitude for colleagues who inspire them. 
• Ensure participation from senior leaders to emphasize that accountability starts at the top. 
• Pair stories or shoutouts about women’s empowerment with real commitments, like publicly reporting on gender equity metrics. 

6. Volunteer or Donation Drive

Community engagement initiatives like volunteering and donation drives can be a valuable way to celebrate IWD. Partner with local organizations that support women, for example, shelters, career-readiness nonprofits, or mentorship programs. 

To make these meaningful:

• Choose partners where the organization can have a measurable impact, for example, shelters with trackable support or mentorship programs with clear outcomes.
• Share results transparently, including hours volunteered, number of donations collected, fundraising targets reached, or outcomes achieved. 

How to Make Celebrations Inclusive

IWD should reflect the full diversity of women’s experiences, while also avoiding the inequities it aims to address. Without thoughtful planning, even well-intentioned celebrations can unintentionally exclude, tokenize, or overburden the very people they’re supposed to support. 

Here’s how to make International Women’s Day activities more credible and inclusive. 

Center intersectionality in your programming.

IWD should celebrate all women, and inclusion starts with representation and voice, explained Fuciarelli. “Programming needs to reflect the diversity of women’s experiences across race, ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and caregiving roles,” she added. 

That means being intentional about whose stories are elevated. “Rather than centering one narrative of womanhood, organizations can highlight varied pathways to leadership and invite multiple perspectives,” said Fuciarelli. 

Spotlights, panels, and discussions should include and celebrate trans women, women of color, women with disabilities, and women across a range of roles and seniority levels, not just the most visible. 

Fuciarelli also recommended reviewing any language and imagery used to ensure they reflect the full workforce, not a narrow demographic.

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Make space for celebration and conversation.

IWD should celebrate progress. But when organizations only focus on wins, there’s a danger that the day can start to feel performative. The most effective celebrations also create space for reflection and conversation about what needs to change. 

Doyle mentioned it’s also important to be transparent about what the company is and isn’t prioritizing. “IWD gives us a perfect opportunity to check the temperature on gender equity, to have a dialogue. Be curious about what the women in your organisation need or want —- hosting conversations about what's still to be done, not just celebrating how far we've come.”

This balance matters. It shows the company is proud of progress, but also serious about resolving any ongoing challenges. 

Reduce emotional labor from marginalized employees.

One of the fastest ways to undermine inclusion and celebration around IWD is to place the burden of planning on marginalized employees. 

Women, especially those from marginalized groups, are often expected to lead IWD celebrations, share personal experiences, or educate colleagues — often at the expense of their mental health. Without proper support, this can become the kind of invisible labor IWD is meant to challenge. 

“If IWD requires unpaid labor from the very group it seeks to celebrate, it undermines its own purpose,” explained Johnston. “Recognize that this is real, valued work and should be treated as such,” she added.

To avoid this:

• Make participation optional.
• Involve allies with IWD planning and execution. 
• Offer multiple ways to engage, including low-visibility options. 
• Provide additional compensation or workload adjustments for ERG leaders.

Inclusive IWD celebrations are a strong start. But the real impact comes from empowering women throughout the year. 

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Empowering Women Beyond IWD

IWD can spark conversation, but lasting progress depends on what happens during the rest of the year. Here’s how HR and people leaders can create meaningful impact, year-round. 

Compensate ERG leaders appropriately.

Employee Resource Group leaders often take on extra work around planning events, supporting group members, and executing programming. Their time and effort should be compensated or rewarded consistently across the organization. 

Johnston recommended compensating ERG leadership with bonuses, stipends, or formal recognition. The time dedicated to these groups should also be considered as an example of going above and beyond when employees are up for promotion. 

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Have executive sponsors for ERGs.

Executive participation in or sponsorship of ERG groups helps create validation and visibility for the work these groups accomplish.  

When senior leaders actively show support forparticipate in ERG programming, it reinforces that inclusion work is a company-wide responsibility. Strong sponsors don’t just attend events, either. They help unblock resources, take insights to leadership, mentor ERG leaders, and ensure that ERG discussions translate into action. 

Analyze engagement results by gender, then act on them.

Most companies collect engagement results, but don’t always analyze these through a gender lens. Segmenting engagement, pulse, and employee experience data by gender can help identify what feedback or results come from women whose workplace experience could be improved, whether that’s to do with gender equality, performance management, career growth, women’s rights, psychological safety, or anything else. 

These insights can be used to build clear action plans. Ideally, accountability for these should sit with team leaders and executives, not solely with ERG leaders or individual contributors. 

Train managers to understand unconscious bias.

Managers have a huge part in shaping the employee experience. But without the right training, unconscious bias can quietly shape reviews, performance feedback, and the development opportunities of their teams.

Regular manager training around unconscious bias helps create a more consistent, equitable employee experience. Frameworks like the COIN (connection, observation, impact, next steps) model can help make feedback more equitable, while performance review calibration can ensure fairness. 

The goal isn’t immediate perfection; it’s moving towards the awareness of what it takes to create a consistent, equitable experience for their teams. 

💡Use Lattice AI to catch biased feedback and improve the quality of reviews. 

Take conduct complaints from women seriously.

Establishing psychological safety at work is crucial for employee retention, engagement, and productivity. When women raise concerns about bias, harassment, or inappropriate behavior, take them seriously.

Every complaint deserves due diligence, and investigating an isolated event is far more effective than waiting for multiple HR complaints to emerge before acting on them. Addressing issues early not only protects employees but also signals that the organization takes action to protect its people. 

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