6 Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day & The Women in Your Life

With International Women’s Day fast approaching on March 8th 2022, you may be wondering how to celebrate and promote the special women in your lives. At Triumph, we are here to celebrate International Women’s Day with you, so we have provided a brief history of the day, along with six ways you can celebrate the achievements of the women in your life.

History

International Women’s Day garners just under 590,000 Google searches a year, with 450,000 of these being in March. So what is International Women’s Day? Originally born out of labor movements, the first day was in Germany in 1911, with Australia picking it up in 1928. Annual marches were held, demanding equal pay, shorter working hours and paid leave. As the day has grown, it has been picked up by more countries as a holiday with themes introduced, highlighting different areas where there are still barriers, such as equal pay (still). This year's theme, “breaking the bias” addresses the inherent bias present in humans and the need to call it out. This International Women’s Day, here are six ways you can celebrate the women in your life:

#1 Make a Donation

A simple one. Make a donation in a friend’s name or come together for a fundraiser. There are many women-oriented charities to make a donation to, at both a global or local level. The International Women’s Day website makes it simple by having a list of charities to choose from. Want to make a difference at a more local level with your friends? You may choose to go a different route and donate clothes, food or make-up to local women's shelters instead of money. Whilst not directly affecting the women in your life, this still has a great impact on the community. Some of Triumph’s charity suggestions in particular are:

• Support the Girls: Support the Girls accepts bra donations, so if you have any good quality bras that you no longer wear this may be the route for you.
• National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Women’s Alliance (NATSIWA): NATSIWA makes sure ATSI women have a voice in national and international policy decisions, with current focuses around domestic violence and making sure hygiene products are accessible for people in remote areas.
• Dress for Success: With multiple locations around Australia, Dress for Success provides professional clothing and career development tools for women, trans and non-binary individuals to help encourage self-sufficiency. They accept both clothing and monetary donations.

#2 Engage at Work

Whether it’s a workshop, panel or guest speaker, work events are a great way to champion your coworkers, particularly given the “break the bias” theme. The International Women’s Day site provides a comprehensive guide to organising events with resources available. Online panels are available as well, with the site also providing an event locator. A more long-term solution could be a book club, starting on the theme of inspirational women. Some suggestions are:

• Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
• Educated by Tara Westover

#3 Show Support Online

Social media activism is prolific in the modern age, but adding your voice is still an important starting point on the road to change. Shout out your inspirational friends and role models, but also share resources. The International Women’s Day website provides social media resources for multiple platforms. Send thoughtful messages as well to those that inspire you, there can never be enough love!

#4 Support Female Led Businesses

Get behind the theme of “breaking the bias” and spread the love at the same time by supporting women-owned businesses in purchasing gifts for the inspirational women in your life.  Female Owned is a social enterprise that provides a comprehensive list of Australian businesses owned by women, making it easy to shop for your friends all in the one place. Alternatively, send some flowers with women-led Australian business LVLY.

#5 Gather the Gang

Gather your friends and head to one of the many events going on around the country to celebrate. For the more serious, there is All About Women at Sydney Opera House on March 12th to 13th which discusses the topics at the heart of “breaking the bias” and can also be viewed online. For those wanting something a bit lighter there are networking events over bubbles and workout classes in Sydney, and luncheons in other cities such as Brisbane. Want something more casual? Why not have a bottomless brunch or hike together (may we suggest some Triumph sportswear for the latter?).

#6 Treat Yourself

For International Women's Day, Triumph is having a sale of some of our favourite items! So why not treat yourself to a comfy and supportive bra, having considered or done some of the other things on this list.

These are our top 6 ideas for celebrating International Women’s Day 2022! Triumph hopes you have a wonderful day however you choose to celebrate.

This sale is only for a limited time, so get in quick!