From creating uplifting short videos to trying out multiple options, here are 19 answers to the question, “What are a few effective ways a business can celebrate Women’s History Month?”
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- Post Supportive Videos on YouTube and TikTok
- Implement Pay Transparency
- Give Equal Opportunities to Female Employees
- Host a Fundraiser for a Women’s Charity
- Feature Women in Your Business
- Watch an Inspirational Movie
- Showcase Commitment to Gender Diversity
- Take a Step Back
- Show Gratitude, Recognition, and Credit Where It’s Due
- Develop a Women’s Entrepreneurship Programs
- Have a Dress Up Day
- Partner With Women-owned Businesses
- Prepare a Women’s Leadership Panel
- Organize a Community Outreach Program
- Sponsor a Scholarship
- Create a TED Talk
- Ask Women on Your Team How They’d Like to Celebrate
- Host a Women’s Networking Event
- Go Beyond Only One Suitable Option
Post Supportive Videos on YouTube and TikTok
Videos are valuable tools for businesses. Brands can wish women well in short videos. When placed on YouTube as a Short and on a short TikTok video, you get access to massive audiences with no advertising budget.
Shorts and TikTok videos are both vertical, so you don’t even need to change the pixels. Make sure to use hashtags for maximum visibility. Your branding will get a boost when people discover you support female-owned businesses.
Janice Wald, Blogger, Mostly Blogging
Implement Pay Transparency
Implementing pay transparency in the organization is a powerful way of marking this year’s Women’s History Month. It’s the best and most concrete way to address one of the most significant issues that women continue to face in the workplace: the gender pay gap.
Instituting pay transparency will also provide a firm foundation for the company to fight other systemic inequalities pertaining to gender in the workplace, including lack of gender diversity in the C-Suite and sexual, verbal, and physical harassment of female employees.
Joe Flanagan, Founder, 90s Fashion World
Give Equal Opportunities to Female Employees
As a woman in business, I think one way a company can celebrate Women’s History Month is to make sure they are giving equal opportunities to female employees in their company.
Are they hiring for positions internally? Are females getting paid equally to their male counterparts? This is one of the most important things a company can do in general, but especially during this month!
Maegan Griffin, Founder, CEO, and Nurse Practitioner, Skin Pharm
Hold a Fundraiser for a Women’s Charity
In my opinion, sponsoring a fundraiser for a women’s organization is a fantastic way for businesses to celebrate Women’s History Month. A silent auction, a charity run, or a bake sale are all examples of fundraisers.
The money can then be given to a women’s charity, such as a shelter or a breast cancer research organization. Businesses can organize a fundraiser in collaboration with a women’s charity. They can also promote the event using social media, email, or other lines of communication to urge employees, customers, and the community to attend.
Organizing a fundraiser honors women’s accomplishments while simultaneously supporting a cause that aids women in need.
Gerrid Smith, Chief Marketing Officer, Joy Organics
Feature Women in Your Business
Women’s History Month is an excellent time to learn about the women who changed the world and pushed the boundaries. But it also gives you a chance to showcase the women who have contributed and are currently contributing to your business.
If your company has a long history, start with the early founders or employees. But don’t forget to recognize the women who are essential to your company today. Not only can recognition empower employees to become more confident, take chances, and elevate your company, but it can also help build bonds between employees.
Michelle Robbins, Licensed Insurance Agent, Clearsurance.com
Watch an Inspirational Movie
You can celebrate Women’s History Month by hosting a movie day/evening only for women in your workplace. Some feminist films like “Alien,” “The First Wives Club,” “Wild,” and “Revenge” are excellent movies for empowering women in the workplace and challenging gender norms.
You can host a Zoom meeting or arrange for a movie in your organization’s conference room at lunchtime. To make your female employees feel more special, you can reward them with a token of appreciation at the end of the movie.
At my company, we celebrate Women’s History Month by rewarding every female employee for their hard work over the year.
Madhurima Halder, Content Manager, Recruit CRM
Showcase Commitment to Gender Diversity
Businesses can use Women’s History Month as an opportunity to showcase their commitment to gender diversity and equality by hosting training sessions or workshops that address issues such as unconscious bias and gender stereotypes, and creating a more inclusive workplace culture.
This can help to raise awareness of these important issues and empower employees to become advocates for gender equality both within the workplace and in their personal lives. Businesses can support organizations that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, such as charities or non-profit organizations that focus on women’s health, education, or economic empowerment.
This can include donating a portion of profits to these organizations, hosting fundraising events, or volunteering time or resources to support their initiatives.
Samantha Odo, Real Estate Expert and Chief Operating Officer, Precondo
Take a Step Back
One of the most important things we can do during this time is to take a step back and reflect on our own biases. We all have them, but it’s up to us to be aware of them and actively work to overcome them.
How? One way is to simply start paying attention to your thoughts and actions. When you’re making decisions, are you considering all candidates fairly, regardless of gender? Are you unconsciously using language or tone that might be perceived as dismissive or condescending towards women?
The second part is taking action. Leaders can do this by setting goals for diversity and inclusion within the teams, creating mentorship programs for underrepresented groups, and making sure that policies and practices are fair and equitable.
Piotrek Sosnowski, Chief People and Culture Officer, HiJunior
Show Gratitude, Recognition, and Credit Where It’s Due
One way to celebrate Women’s History Month within the company could be by featuring women leaders/employees in the company through social media, newsletters, or other communication channels. This can include sharing their stories, achievements, and contributions to the company and society. Recognition and credit are important!
Additionally, businesses can organize events or initiatives that promote women’s empowerment and gender equality, such as workshops, mentorship programs, or donation drives to organizations that support women’s rights and issues.
Derek Sall, Founder and Financial Expert, Life and My Finances
Develop a Women’s Entrepreneurship Programs
During Women’s History Month, businesses can create programs or initiatives to support female entrepreneurs, such as offering business education courses, providing a platform to feature their products, hosting events, and doing community outreach.
Such initiatives offer short- and long-term benefits by providing resources and creating a supportive environment for women entrepreneurs to thrive. Additionally, these efforts can foster customer loyalty by showcasing the business’s commitment to supporting female entrepreneurship.
Burak Özdemir, Founder, Online Alarm Kur
Have a Dress Up Day
Remember back in elementary school when you’d have to dress-up like your favorite book character day? Well, why not host a dress-up as your favorite woman from history?
Everyone could have a lot of fun with this. It could be turned into some sort of office game with prizes to see who can correctly identify the most historical female figures or employees could be asked to act in character for a day. There are lots of opportunities for participation and employee engagement.
Jarir Mallah, HR Specialist, Ling App
Partner With Women-owned Businesses
In my opinion, collaborating with women-owned businesses is an excellent way for businesses to celebrate Women’s History Month. Collaboration with women-owned businesses can help advertise their products and services, boost their growth and development, and contribute to women’s economic empowerment.
Businesses can research and find women-owned companies in their area or industry to partner with. They can also offer networking events or workshops to connect women-owned businesses with their customers or clients. Businesses may celebrate women’s entrepreneurship and contribute to a more equitable and diverse business ecosystem by working with women-owned enterprises.
Matt Magnante, Director of Content and SEO, Fitness Volt
Prepare a Women’s Leadership Panel
I believe it would be a fantastic approach to honor women’s achievements and mark Women’s History Month by holding a panel discussion with prominent female figures in leadership. Such a gathering may take place either physically within the company or digitally for the public.
The panel can include accomplished women from various areas who will discuss leadership, advancing one’s career, and feeling more confident. Attendees of both sexes are welcome, and a question-and-answer period is encouraged.
Businesses can benefit from a more well-rounded discussion by inviting women from a range of fields and levels of management to participate on a panel. Time should be allotted for the panelists to prepare their remarks and ensure an interesting and informed conversation. In order to get the word out to as many people as possible, you should use mediums such as social media, email, and traditional media.
Timothy Allen, Sr. Corporate Investigator, Corporate Investigation Consulting
Organize a Community Outreach Program
For example, in my company, we are planning to collaborate with a local women’s shelter that provides resources and services to women in need. Our company is planning to organize a donation drive to collect necessities like toiletries, clothing, and bedding, and we are also going to volunteer our time to assist with fundraising efforts.
This not only recognizes women’s accomplishments and issues but also actively supports and uplifts those who may be struggling. It can also instill a sense of community and social responsibility in employees, which can improve workplace culture and morale.
Logan Nguyen, Co-Founder, MIDSS
Sponsor a Scholarship
A business can celebrate Women’s History Month by sponsoring a scholarship or award for a woman in their local community pursuing higher education. The company could state qualifications, such as that the applicant must be from their local community and enrolled in an academic program related to the company’s field, and provide a monetary reward to the selected recipient.
Alternatively, the business can provide mentorship opportunities or internships for women that help them gain skills and experience in their field of study. This may also include offering job-shadowing programs, where women can observe and learn about how different organizational roles are carried out. These initiatives will recognize the work of accomplished women and assist aspiring female professionals in achieving their career goals.
Sarah Gibson, Director, Proactive Healthcare
Create a TED Talk
To celebrate Women’s History Month, I would love to see businesses recognize the incredible accomplishments of female leaders. A great way to do this is by hosting TED Talks from amazing women across all industries!
Businesses could host Q&A sessions or conversations with established or up-and-coming female professionals who have faced challenges and succeeded brilliantly. Doing so would inspire other women in their workplaces, as well as show that everyone—regardless of gender and background—can contribute to making an organization successful. Moreover, it serves as an invaluable reminder of the important role that women play in a company’s overall success!
Haya Subhan, General Manager, Sheffield First Aid Courses
Ask Women on Your Team How They’d Like to Celebrate
One of the biggest elements of celebrating Women’s History Month that businesses overlook is actually asking the women on their team what they want. Unfortunately, often they instead ask them to do more unpaid work.
For example, someone recently asked me to moderate a well-known marketing event in which all the moderators were women in order to celebrate Women’s History Month. But of course, there was no payment, so they expected an entire group of women to celebrate Women’s History Month by doing an entire day of unpaid work. Please don’t do this! That’s not celebrating Women’s History Month!
Instead, ask women themselves what rewards or benefits they’d like and how they’d like to celebrate. That’ll give you the best possible answer for your specific company and team.
Adriana Stein, CEO and Founder, AS Marketing
Host a Women’s Networking Event
As a businesswoman, I believe that having a women’s networking event is a great way to mark Women’s History Month. The event has the potential to bring together women from all industries and professions to network, discuss ideas, and make connections.
The networking event can be held on-site or digitally for the community. Businesses should offer a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere when organizing a successful women’s networking event. Keynote speakers, speed networking, and other activities that stimulate participation and connection might be included in the event. To reach a large audience, promote the event via social media, email, and other communication methods.
Cindi Keller, Communications Coordinator, The Criminal Defense Firm
Go Beyond Only One Suitable Option
As a female entrepreneur with a largely female staff, celebrating Women’s History Month is always special. Some ways we celebrate at Goodbee Plumbing and Drains are discussing strong female leaders, hosting lunch-and-learns, holding an optional book club on short stories written by women, highlighting a different female employee each week, and recognizing all of their hard work.
We also have a resource group to encourage our female employees to unite and share their common interests and experiences. Beyond work, ways that you can celebrate women this month include supporting a women’s nonprofit, hosting an event to celebrate women, supporting women-owned businesses, writing a thank-you letter to a woman who has inspired you, watching TED Talks to learn about current issues, or joining a women’s volunteer group. The opportunities are endless to make the women in your life feel appreciated this month.
Allison Harrison, Co-Owner, Goodbee Plumbing & Drains
