DEIB Corner: Celebrate Women’s History Month in Your Workplace

Women’s history month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women. Across the world, employers are leaning into diversity and inclusion programs to help foster a better work environment for all. This March, your organization can celebrate the women of history who fought the good fight for equity. And while there’s still a long way to go, there are things you can do today to celebrate women in the workplace right now. 

Women have fought for progress and equality for centuries, but significant progress has been made over the last hundred years. Women’s History Month is a time when your company can come together and celebrate the incredible women you know and employ. Here are a few ideas on how you can celebrate women in your office:

Reward women in your workplace.

For increased employee engagement, well-organized perks and benefits are essential. It is a strategy to boost talented women’s profiles through a clear recognition and reward system. Gift a bouquet of roses, a card, and a bar of chocolate to each of the women in the office to make them feel unique.  Show your appreciation for your female employees.  It is the best day to send a personalized thank you note to all the ladies making the office a special place.

Create family-friendly work-life balance policies.

The impact of mothers’ employment on family relationships is crucial. If a child has a doctor’s appointment or is on a school break, women play a critical role in organizing things. Thus, for mothers (specially, working mothers) balancing work and family duties is crucial. Employer policies promoting work-life balance are essential to women.

Celebrate women on social media.

Create a corporate social media strategy designed to highlight trailblazing women in your industry, as well as your own colleagues. These can be interviews about what it is like in your industry and create a blog post or a video with their responses. You can create shareable graphics with inspiring quotes from women in your office and from history. Another idea is to craft a get-to-know you post for women in your company so your followers can get to know the women behind your company and how they contribute to organizational success.

Schedule a coffee chat with a woman that inspires you.

This idea is as simple as a trip to your local coffee shop. Reach out to three women you admire or want to know more about and offer to buy them coffee. Set about an hour aside to sit and chat with them about work, life, hurdles they’ve overcome, and anything else that might come up.

Host guest speakers.

The best way to celebrate Women’s History Month is to give women a platform. Inviting women in your industry to speak to your company is a huge opportunity. Whether you invite a single speaker to come talk to you about Women’s History Month or you host a panel of women in your industry, it’s a great chance to learn from some of the best!

Make it intersectional.

The most important part of all of this is the focus on intersectionality. Gender diversity in the workplace is just the first piece of the puzzle. Women are connected by their experiences, but intersectionality asks to acknowledge the fact that all people, including cis women, nonbinary, and genderfluid individuals, have different experiences and identities. 

Most importantly, make women’s history a priority every day.

Celebrating Women’s History Month once a year is a good start, but we hope you’ll use these ideas to spark a larger conversation. Use these ideas to create the blueprint for a more inclusive environment. When your workforce is more accepting and diverse, everyone wins!

If you’re interested in supporting the growth of women in your organization, check out our Women in Leadership: Ready to Represent series. It’s designed by women for women and helps individual women better navigate the challenges of being a woman in leadership.