International Women's Day 2021

This International Women's Day publication provides information on the history of International Women's Day and insights of what International Women's Day means to five women from BDO LAG.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

MARCH 2021

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

HISTORY

1908 Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909 In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women's achievements or rally for women's equality. Marked annually on 8 March, International Women's Day (IWD) is one of the most important days of the year to:  Celebrate women's achievements  Raise awareness about women's equality  Lobby for accelerated gender parity  Fundraise for female-focused charities. The campaign theme for International Women's Day 2021 is 'Choose To Challenge'. A challenged world is an alert world. And from challenge comes change. So let's all #ChooseToChallenge. International Women's Day has occurred for well over a century with the first gathering held in 1911. Purple, green and white are the colours of International Women's Day. Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolizes hope. White represents purity, albeit a controversial concept. The colours originated from the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in the UK in 1908.

History and timeline have been sourced from internationalwomensday.com

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

1910 In 1910, a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day – a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs - and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament - greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.

1975 International Women's Day was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations in 1975. Then in December 1977, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a United Nations Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace to be observed on any day of the year by Member States, in accordance with their historical and national traditions.

1996 The UN announced their first annual theme “Celebrating the past, Planning for the Future” which was followed in 1997 with “Women at the Peace table”, in 1998 with “Women and Human Rights”, in 1999 with “World Free of Violence Against Women”, and so on each year until the current day.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

2001 The internationalwomensday.com platform was launched with the specific purpose of re-energizing the day - a focus which continues to this day - celebrating and making visible the achievements of women while continuing the call for accelerating gender parity. The website, which provides useful guidance and resources, adopts an annual campaign theme that is globally relevant for groups and organizations. The campaign theme, one of many around the world, provides a framework and direction for annual IWD activity and takes into account the wider agenda of both celebration as well as the call to action for gender parity.

2011 2011 saw the 100 year centenary of International Women's Day - with the first IWD event held exactly 100 years ago in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. In the United States, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 2011 to be ‘Women's History Month’, calling Americans to mark IWD by reflecting on “the extraordinary accomplishments of women” in shaping the country's history. In the United Kingdom, celebrity activist Annie Lennox lead a march across one of London's iconic bridges raising awareness in support for global charity Women for Women International. Further charities such as Oxfam have run extensive IWD activity.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

2020 and beyond

The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men. However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so each year the world inspires women and celebrates their achievements.

The world has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation may feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

CHLOE CAMPBELL SENIOR PA

It’s easy to sometimes feel that because you don’t look a certain way or you’ve reached a certain age and haven’t ‘achieved’ certain things that you’ve somehow failed. There is some sort of checklist within society that piles on the pressure and in today’s society, as great as it can be, social media really doesn’t help sometimes. I think it’s so important to have days like International Women’s Day not just to celebrate women but also remind women that they don’t have to conform to a standard model and each and every single one of us have our individual purposes and goals. It’s OK that each of our journeys are different and it’s OK to be growing at different rates, plus how boring would life be anyway if we were all growing at the same rate? My 2021 calendar has an affirmations theme and each month has a new affirmation to encourage you for the month ahead. The affirmation for March is “As an empowered woman, I empower women”. I definitely feel empowered as a woman and I can only hope that I have played a small part in helping to empower other women during my life.

I am thankful that BDO encourages us to be who we are and it’s great that International Women’s Day is just one of the many great things recognised by the firm. I think that there is something really beautiful about women coming together to celebrate each other and it’s really important for women to build each other up because sisterhood is such a wonderful thing. I’m really grateful to have been surrounded by many awesome, courageous and gifted women throughout my life. I’ve found that as I get older, I cherish the moments more; the more time I get to spend with the great women in my life such as my mum, sisters and girlfriends, all at very different seasons of their life but add so much value to mine. As someone who enjoys spending time with people, I am lucky to have a group of female friends from diverse origins and backgrounds and ages. All of them have helped to influence and enhance my life.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

CAROLINE INGHAM SENIOR AUDIT MANAGER

In amongst these women I have a core team of four; we have seen each other through babies, heart breaks, new jobs, and the general highs and lows life throws at us. Over the years they have taught me how to be strong, brave and vulnerable. They have challenged me to be a better person. They have taught me how to laugh at myself and that actually ‘failure’ is not something to be sacred of. All of this washed down with copious amounts of prosecco. Their unwavering support and friendship has been invaluable to me and continues to be. So what does International Women’s Day mean to me - being thankful for having some amazing kick ass women around me. P.S. No men were harmed in the writing of this.

When I was asked to write this I took a bit of time to think what this means to me. I am not sure anyone has ever asked me the question before. I tend to find you get one of two responses to ‘Happy International Women’s Day’. One positive, the other asks the question, “When’s International Men’s day?” - 19 November, by the way. International Women’s Day means so many things to so many people. The focus started as equality for women and has progressed to thinking more widely on key issues such as equality for all. But, really my thoughts turn to the women in my life, and taking time to stop and think about some of the women I have the privilege to call my friends. I am lucky to have a fantastic network of women, all strong in their own ways, and criss-cross a variety of life and business roles.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

MERISSA MACIAZEK ASSISTANT MANAGER

My professional career began when I was 23 and joined a finance team at a media company in Texas. I was the only female, which didn’t strike me as odd as it was a small team of 4 people. It wasn’t until I moved into another department that I started to clock that something was off. My role allowed me to participate in regular meetings with Directors across the US and Europe – and in each one, I was the only woman in the room. I remember a female manager who wasn’t invited to the meetings despite her boss needing to consult her on nearly every question about his department before being able to provide a definitive answer. I remember the rumours that she only got her management position because she was married to a man who was indispensable to the business. I remember being in a meeting with 10 men and being asked if I used to be blonde because I asked a clarifying question to my boss. I remember reading a Glassdoor review of the company where someone shrewdly suggested to “look at their website – there isn’t a single woman or minority on their executive board.” Despite these examples, I wouldn’t trade in my time at that company for anything. I was given many opportunities by senior management to further my own development – but I will never forget those experiences. They made me realise that not everyone respects a woman, or her opinion, as much as they do a man.

That, in turn, made me question why women weren’t given equal representation on forums where they had as much, if not more, knowledge than other men at the table; and finally, that made me start to question “would they have said that to a man?” The campaign theme of International Women’s Day 2021 is #ChooseToChallenge. We can all challenge gender biases in our everyday world. I’m pleased to say that my experience at BDO has been contrary to the above, and instead I’ve had the opportunity to work with brilliant women like Diane Campbell and Lucie Kingdom, who allow me to visualise myself having a seat at the table – but we can still do so much more. I choose to celebrate where we are today, in a world where Jacinda Ardern is praised for her role as New Zealand Prime Minister and where Kamala Harris has been sworn in as the first female Vice President. But, the gender pay gap still exists, there are still more CEOs named Steve at FTSE100 companies than CEOs that are women, and BDO still has more male partners than female. So, I will also #ChooseToChallenge, and I hope this year’s campaign theme also inspires you to challenge existing gender biases or do what you can to rectify the inequities present in our everyday lives. “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

KAREN MAHABEER SENIOR MANAGER

I am innately grateful that I have been (and still am) exposed to strong female and male role models within BDO. Notably, I see confidence, leadership and accomplishment in other women; and on all days (especially on International Women’s Day), it’s a great reminder that I too am an accomplished women. “Collectively, we women can all help create an inclusive world. From challenge comes change, so let's all choose to challenge.” internationalwomensday.com

International Women’s Day for me serves as a fantastic reminder that there are tools, resources, and a support structure to shape women into leaders who embrace their self-worth, inspire others and catalyse a real impact. One of the strongest tools available to me throughout my career has been that of female role models. I’ve been gently influenced by informal mentors, partners, and managers that I’ve worked with through the years. I’ve observed the way they lead and look after their people - it holds me accountable and inspires me to look out for people needing some form of support. Typically people (i.e. me!) get inspired to do something when they see others like them do it. When women see other women in roles they find it easier to imagine themselves in those roles and are more likely to work towards those goals.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

NICOLE MARTIN PARTNER

I know this pandemic is impacting everybody in all walks of life, however there is a risk that gender inequality could go into reverse, which is something I feel passionately we all need to #ChoosetoChallenge. It is why I continue to remain proud to be a partner at BDO with our response to the pandemic; promoting agile working for everybody who needs to work in different ways, for a whole host of reasons, childcare, caring responsibilities, looking after relatives with the virus, alongside a critical focus on wellbeing and staying connected, and an un-wavering focus on removing barriers to equality. As Melinda Gates stated “Covid has magnified every existing inequality”, therefore as we come out of this pandemic I am going to personally #ChoosetoChallenge myself as to how I will continue to support gender inequality through my role as a parent, my role at BDO and in my role on the Board of Governor’s at a local large technical college. I know there is more I can do!

In reflecting on International Women’s Day, the theme #ChoosetoChallenge and on my thoughts from last year when I wrote on my career in the auditing world; I think about the way each and every one of our lives has been impacted and the challenges we have all faced, which we were not prepared or ready for, given the speed of the spread of the virus and the essential action that needed to be taken. I have read a large number of articles on the impact that Covid-19 has had and will ‘affect’ women and how it will affect women disproportionately to the impact on men, as it is women who are typically on the front line in a number of professions, including in healthcare and it is women who are more likely to bear the brunt of the social economic consequences of the pandemic. I have seen this first hand in my female friends who are home schooling primary school children; I personally have an 11 year old who has transitioned from primary to secondary school over the last year, a large amount of which has been via home learning /schooling and the impact that has had on both of us; I have friends who work in typically female dominated professions who have had limited or no income over a large proportion of the last year, and I have friends who work in healthcare with the resultant mental strain.

It would be great to have a coffee with anybody who would also like to #ChoosetoChallenge themselves, to share thoughts and ideas …

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

OLIVIA NISBET +44 (0)207 034 5813 olivia.nisbet@bdo.co.uk

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