Celebrating #IWD in actions, not just words of support

I have seen and heard so much good content about #IWD2021 that I contemplated not adding to the noise. I then decided it is about celebrating strong and inspiring women, and I want to do that.
The last year (more than any) has reminded me we have a long way to go until we can truly celebrate equal status for women and no longer need #IWD. A perfect illustration is when the public expressed anger at the Government’s Stay at Home campaign. The ad pictured women home schooling their children and doing household chores, while the man sat on the sofa watching TV.
I wonder, were people cross that it looked like an ad from the 50s, or actually that it was a fair representation of what was happening in the majority of homes? A reminder of how far equality had been set back by the pandemic? Of how working women I know and follow, have been juggling chef, hotel manager, teacher and full-time entertainer, along with their own career?
But #IWD for me is not about looking back. It’s not about the times I’ve been told I am emotionally fragile, the occasions I was written off when I walked in a room, or the experience of losing out on a role that was given to a man less qualified than me. It’s about changing the present and challenging the future.
What I will do today (and every day), is support and champion the women that work for me, or that we work for, give female competitors a step up, not a shove down, and working mothers the flexibility and support they need to be their very best at work.
I love the fact that leading an agency means I can encourage more women into the industry and do my best to support all the amazing young women who work at Stand – sometimes believing in them more than they believe in themselves. I want them to feel empowered, not apologetic, about the fact that we are built and run by strong women.
But the most effective way I can challenge the future is to encourage my 17 year old daughter to think big and fight for what she believes in. I have tried to teach her the essential skills of confidence, resilience and self-belief that she will need when others try to put her down, and every day I try to show her that being a woman is an advantage, not a disadvantage.
So, as you celebrate #IWD2021, make sure you do so with actions and not just words of support. That’s what’s going to change the future, and it will mean we celebrate women’s achievements every day not just on the 8th of March.

Why every organisation should be thinking about the circular economy
Imagine a world where every product is repaired, recycled or refurbished at the end...
More information
Sick days on the rise – cause for concern, or proving the need for change?
New research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and Simplyhealth has...
More information
Revving Up for a Sustainable Future: Why We Must Challenge Rishi Sunak’s Backtrack on Net Zero
As Climate Week in New York concludes, we find ourselves at a critical juncture...
More information
Apple’s Sustainability Video: A Storytelling Triumph with Gaps in Green Commitment
Apple’s latest sustainability video, featuring CEO Tim Cook and actress Octavia Spencer, has sparked...
More information
Taking A Stand with Nazim Valimahomed, Founder and Chief Product and Design Officer at Kroo.
Each month we’re sitting down with the trailblazers who are making a difference at...
More information
Celebrating success: Stand celebrates double victory, winning two PR awards
We’re delighted to share that our PR efforts secured us not one but two...
More information
We can’t afford to ignore migraine in the workplace
Do you work with someone who experiences migraine? Chances are, you do – you...
More information
Taking A Stand with James Rutter, Chief Creative Officer at COOK.
Each month we’re sitting down with the trailblazers who are making a difference at...
More information
The future of payment – the revolution of mobility technology
Phasing out petrol and diesel cars and introducing EVs is a great option in...
More information
Claire Brady on Net Zero Hero Podcast
Some people think that ‘circularity’ simply means recycling, but it is so much more...
More information
Earth Day
Earth Day provides an opportunity to take stock of our progress towards addressing the...
More information
When it comes to making sustainability claims, getting it wrong can cost organisations the earth
According to Robin Hicks, “2022 was the year that policymakers started to take greenwashing...
More information
Less is more: How low alcohol brands are targeting their Gen Z consumers
Dry January may be over, but giving up alcohol definitely hasn’t gone out of...
More information
Beyond B Corp: Breaking up with Barclays
Last year we became a certified B Corp, and to do so we had...
More information
Three takeaways from the IPCC’s ‘final warning’ report
This week has seen the release of the latest IPCC report assessing the climate...
More information
Why we’ve introduced a 4.5 day working week
As the rulebook of the working week gets rewritten, at Stand we continue to...
More information
Stand shifts as we move into our second decade
I founded Stand with one simple (but typically ambitious) belief: that good comms can...
More information
So… has the pandemic set us back or propelled us forward?
Last week, just days after the restrictions in England were lifted, we hosted our...
More information
Wellbeing is not a one-size-fits-all approach
It’s safe to say that being plunged into multiple lockdowns across the past 18...
More information
Covid-19 has given us a harsh lesson in education inequality
Although ‘Freedom Day’ is here, Covid’s effects will, as we hear all too often,...
More information
The pandemic of inequalities
Last week, the Health Foundation’s Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery report made headlines, revealing that...
More information
Has the pandemic set us back 50 years, or will it propel us forward?
At its onset, Covid-19 was described as the great leveller. But the pandemic has...
More information