Spark a sense of occasion with these pro tips
Feeling the pressure to mark International Women's Day in a mindful-yet-thrilling way? As the new year rapidly picks up pace, the 8th of March comes around too quickly. There’s never enough time.
If you've been tasked with planning the company's International Women's Day activities, welcome! You've arrived at just the right place. Discover our five easily-adapted ideas to create a memorable day in your workplace.
Before we begin: we know that every workplace is different; after all - you know best! So, there is no need to follow our guidance to the T. Use our top tips as sources of information to inspire ideas that best suit your teams.
Beautiful (Purple) decorations
Decorate well, and no employee will be left unawares of International Women Day within the workplace. International Women’s Day decorations should be loud and proud, moreover impossible to ignore.
The first and most obvious place to find on-message International Women’s Day material is the official International Women’s Day website, where official event pack merch can be bought.
Missed the ordering deadline? No worries, the IWD website is still a great place to look to get an idea of what to look for with decorations. Their resources are extensive, so it’s well worth taking the time to explore to see what is most useful to your business.
Top tip: Remember that this is your chance to support women-led businesses when ordering decorations. Whether you choose Karen Hsu’s Pom Pom Factory decorations Diana and Sabina Bilenko, and Halla Al-Saad’s Grace Floral London, purchasing International Women’s Day decorations is a chance to support women-led entrepreneurship in London.
'Thank You' Videos
Depending on the size and outgoingness of your workplace, send a call-out to your team for short video submissions where they can speak about a woman they admire, whether it’s family, friends or a colleague. The impact is far more significant when employees can share a personal message.
Once video submissions are collected, these can play on a loop on your socials, company site, work TV screen or even on your work chats - wherever your teams are most likely to engage. Remember to send a call out for submissions well before IWD, and don’t be shy about asking key team members directly (a little bit of face-to-face reinforcement goes a long way).
Top Tip: If your team is a little camera shy, or you don’t have the technical know-how to work with video submissions, you could also set up an online form where people can write a written response instead. Base any interactive activities on a realistic level of engagement you would expect from your team.
Mouthwatering Pop-Ups
Nothing can create a sense of community within the workplace quite like a special shared meal. If you’ve got the budget, why not set up a delicious food experience everyone can rally around for IWD?
Being in the office catering business since 2005, one food offering we know never fails to get teams talking is a food pop-up in the office canteen. Plus, they’re easily adapted to the event that you want to celebrate. For example, an International Women’s Day pop up menu could only include the most exciting recipes by leading female chefs. .
Psst. This year, Fooditude is providing clients with a special menu with recipes by the formidable Chef Nieves Barragon.
Top tip: At Fooditude, our catering experts work alongside clients to create a food pop-up to match their vision. A good caterer will be able to take your requirements and transform it into a delicious reality
Supporting a women-focused charity
International Women's Day is a chance to raise awareness about the wide range of challenges women encounter in the workplace, spanning from education to domestic abuse. On IWD, your office can engage with charities addressing these issues through volunteer opportunities, fundraising efforts, and corporate donations.
Here are some worthwhile for-women charities you can look into:
- Support the big day by helping the International Women’s Day organisation spread the word: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Fundraising
- Keep it local with a London centric-charity, such as the Young Women’s Trust. We have found in our experience that more can be achieved when your outreach is local, often leading to longer lasting collaborations.
- Check out this list from the Evening Standard listing worthwhile for-women charities you can support (keep in mind the article is from 2023): https://www.standard.co.uk/shopping/esbest/best-international-women-s-day-gifts-a4086056.html
Top tip: For added relevancy, consider partnering up with a for-women charity working in a similar way to the work of your company. For example: if your company is within finance, you could support a charity that is working towards financial inclusion for women worldwide.
Guest speakers to motivate your team
Liven things up, go an extra mile by bringing in a guest speaker to share their inspirational knowledge and experiences. It can impact you differently hearing words directly from someone’s mouth creating a more authentic sense of understanding about the challenges women face daily.
International Women’s Day: Book a speaker for your IWD event
https://www.internationalwomensday.com/SpeakerSearch
The Motivational Speakers Agency
https://motivationalspeakersagency.co.uk/international-womens-day-speakers?page=0
Women leading the way in food and hospitality
Fooditude has helped link clients with inspiring speakers to present key topics to their teams. Whether it’s a leading chef or an entrepreneurial food producer, we help to bring inspiring women to talk on the topic everyone loves - good food.
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