In the United States, March is Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day on March 8th brings that celebration global.
On March 8, 1857, women from various New York City factories staged a protest over working conditions. The first Women’s Day Celebration in the United States was also in New York City in 1909, but Congress did not establish National Women’s History Week until 1981 to be commemorated annually the second week of March. In 1987, Congress expanded the week to a month. Every year since, Congress has passed a resolution for Women’s History Month, and the president has issued a proclamation.
International Women’s Day (March 8) 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. International Women’s Day (IWD) has occurred for well over a century, with the first March 8 IWD gathering supported by over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. This year’s theme is #PressforProgress.
We asked our Diversity Best Practices members what they are doing to acknowledge and celebrate the contributions of women to their organizations and the communities they serve as well as what they are doing to #PressforProgress. Here is what they shared:
Ahold Delhaize
Giant Food Stores, LLC will be celebrating Women’s History Month with a big event on International Women’s Day. We begin the month with a communication from our Division President, Nicholas Bertram, committing to our support of women and inviting all to support International Women’s Day. Within our stores across the GIANT/MARTIN’s Brand, we are encouraging our teams to wear purple, wear purple ribbons, and we are building excitement for our customers through a sales and display contest, focusing on the floral products associated with International Women’s Day.
In the Carlisle Support Center, we anticipate 300 attendees to participate in a global video broadcast, hearing from the Ahold Delhaize leadership (the parent company of Giant Food Stores, LLC), keynote from Carol Seymore, author of Wisdom Warriors, and a panel discussion by several of the featured Wisdom Warriors leaders. Following the video conference, Carlisle will be hosting local programming, continuing the discussion on how to bring your “A” game. We will also take time to celebrate the 2017 accomplishments of BRGs across the Carlisle area.
Bank of America
March 1: Internal campaign launch communications reinforcing Bank of America’s commitment to investing in the success of women.
March 8: International Women’s Day: Corporate hub buildings lit purple in solidarity with campaign, social content, featured article on company website, video push to employees, local market engagement, and local employee engagement activities.
March 21: Women Driving Social & Economic Progress Forum with live stream made available to employees.
Ongoing internal communications highlighting women trailblazer’s throughout company’s history, and profiles of our current women leaders around the world.
Weekly video content for employees.
Bank of the West
The Leaders of the Bank of the West Women’s Network Group selected the 2018 theme, It Starts with US. In March, they will launch a video featuring women from across our bank who will share their professional and personal stories and challenges. The video will also include images of team members who are making a personal commitment to be a change agent by making a difference for diversity and gender parity in 2018. Through the video, the Women’s Network invites all team members to join their movement and commit to being #ALLin for women.
In addition, the Women’s Network will host panel events featuring executive women who will share their personal experiences and insights about how they have survived and thrived in male-dominated professions, including financial services and technology.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina
Our Blue Cross NC Women’s Employee Resource Group is hosting a panel discussion with community leaders on the topic of blazing trails for women:
TrailblazeHER Panel Discussion
Entrepreneur, Community Leader, IT Leader, Thought Leader, Working Parents….Blazing Trails in all directions! Our panel of Darelyn “DJ” Mitsch, Mike Shaw, Shari Whitaker, and Leigh-Kathryn Bonner, with our own Blue Cross NC leader Cheryl Parquet (Director, Strategic Community Investment) will share their insights on the challenges each of them has overcome to make positive impact on the workplace and the community.
Our Women’s ERG will then announce a nomination campaign where employees can nominate co-workers who are ‘TrailblazeHERs’. Those that are nominated will be invited to attend a celebration event later in the year and will be highlighted in the Women’s ERG’s future communications throughout the year.
Inclusion Circle: Gender
Later in the month, the Office of Diversity and Work Life will host Inclusion Circles on the topic of gender. Inclusion Circles are small group conversations centered on a dimension of diversity. Through a facilitated discussion employees can engage in meaningful dialogue and offer ideas on how we can collaborate to build a more inclusive workplace. The circles provide a safe and open space in which employees can discuss, reflect and share moments that matter.
Caesar’s Entertainment
Caesars Entertainment & Gender Equity
In 2017, Caesars Entertainment reported great strides in creating a more inclusive workforce. Today, at Caesars, women make up 44% of management roles and minority groups represent 37%, the highest percentage in the Company’s history. To continue advancing progress, we have launched a Gender Equity Initiative, with the goal of reaching 50/50 gender representation in manager levels and above by 2025. As part of this initiative, we have partnered with the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative to help support solutions and actions being made to enhance progression. The Gender Equity Initiative is just the beginning. At Caesars, we will continue to focus on diversity, inclusion and engagement as key components on our journey to create an equitable workplace environment for all employees. For example, in Egypt, we recognized a need to be a leading voice in the local gender parity problem. The current unemployment rate for eligible women in the labor market is almost triple that for men. Women in Egypt face immense challenges in finding work and developing a career, both due to cultural elements governing views about women in the workplace and to traditional family responsibilities.
At our affiliated properties in Egypt, we set out to differ from the norm. At present, our workforce in Egypt is 20% women, and we’re focused on growing that percentage while also creating opportunities for existing female employees to advance. In 2016, five women were promoted and we have high hopes for 2018.
Select Initiatives
Caesars Entertainment is celebrating Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day with a variety of initiatives across our locations.
Harrah’s Resort Atlantic City is hosting a cocktail party to raise funds for Adelaide’s Place, a local shelter for homeless women and children. The center enriches women’s lives with life skills training, access to social workers and health care, and a place to feel safe and socialize over healthy meals. The fundraiser is spearheaded by women: One of Atlantic City’s premier female chefs, Dianne Peddicord, executive chef of Martorano’s, will create signature hors d’oeuvres. The event is hosted by Harrah’s Resort General Manager, Karie Hall, and Regional Vice President of Marketing, Jocelyn Allison. Proceeds from the event will contribute to an expansion of the Adelaide’s Place building to allow it to accommodate more women and children.
Supporting Female Business Owners
Caesars supports companies run by women, people of color, LGBTQ people, veterans and other people of diverse backgrounds. As part of Caesars’ diverse supplier program, we connect them to mentors, provide referrals, sponsor additional education and training and more.
Seema Singh, CEO of Foodco USA, runs a food distribution company that evolved from an Indian grocery store started by her mother and aunt in the 1970s. Today, Seema has more than 160 customers, including Horseshoe Baltimore, for which Foodco USA is the exclusive poultry provider. Read Seema’s story here.
Nicole Salha, CEO of Platinum Foods, started her food distribution business in 2011, going from one customer to today running a multi-million dollar business. Learn more about Nicole here.
Isabell Ysassi, Owner & President of RENUoil, founded a recycling company with her husband to manage aluminum, cardboard, glass and more that comes out of Caesars locations.
Caesars is a national partner of Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC), the largest third-party certifier of businesses owned, controlled and operated by women in the U.S.
FHFA
FHFA will celebrate “Women’s History Month.” The theme for this year is “NEVERTHELESS SHE PERSISTED: Honoring Women Who Fight All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.” FHFA will host a program on March 13 at 12:00 p.m. in the CC Conference Room C. Marty Langelan, Langelan & Associates will be our guest speaker. Ms. Langelan will be honored by the National Women’s History Project as a lifelong Anti-Violence/Anti-Harassment Activist on March 24.
Freddie Mac
To celebrate Women’s History Month, Freddie Mac’s Women’s Interactive Network (WIN) is presenting an inspirational industry leader – Carla Harris, a Vice Chairman at Morgan Stanley. Carla will speak on Career Management, Job Performance, & Relationship Currency. In addition to this event, WIN is kicking off our Lean In circles to get members to build their trusted advisors. Members also have a chance to learn from our Freddie Mac Officers on how they get ready to inspire change.
Intel
- Internal article highlighting roundtable interviews with female Fellows (top technical talent promoted in 2017)
- Internal article with retrospective from our female CIO, Paula Tolliver, highlighting her first year at Intel
- Women@Intel Network (Employee Resource Group) events hosted globally around the world supporting the theme #PressforProgress
- Executive leadership communications / quotes distributed through the business units to all employees
- Fireside chat and open forum with Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Barbara Whye
- Joint event with the Women@Intel Network and the Network of Intel African Americans to celebrate the end of Black History Month and beginning of Women’s History Month featuring African American female Dr. Julianne Malveaux
Merck
The Merck Women’s Network will be celebrating throughout the month with a variety of events around the globe on topics such as career development, work life integration and corporate responsibility. For International Women’s Day, Merck Women’s network will bring Kate Richardson-Walsh, OBE, and an Olympic Gold Medallist who will be giving a talk “How Inclusive Leadership in the workplace is essential.”
Microfocus
Microfocus is
- partnering with the National Diversity Council to host a Women in Leadership Symposium in the Bay Area
- sponsoring the Girls in Tech London Conference
- offering access to women’s development webinars from partners such as PBWC and Diversity Best Practices; and
- their women’s ERGs are organizing an internal effort supporting the “Walk in Her Shoes” campaign to help women and girls around the world escape poverty by providing the food and water they need to be healthy.
New Jersey Resources
Alison McMahon and Brittany O’Brien from Human Resources present tips for effective interviewing skills in line with NJR’s core competencies. The discussion will also include resume writing and developing a professional social media presence. Lunch will be provided. This event is open to all employees, but space is limited.
Understanding Stress: It’s Written Across Your Heart What if stress is not entirely bad? Actually, in the right context and “dose“, it can be a good thing. It keeps us sharp and focused and can even help us be stronger and more resilient against injury and illness. Join Supporting Women’s Advancement and Growth (SWAG), along with Mike Eisenhart and other members from Pro-Activity for an interactive session on how to measure, combat and improve your skills when dealing with stress. This event is open to all employees, but space is limited. Click here to register.
SWAG Social We’re spreading the word about what SWAG is all about! Join us for a fun event where you’ll interact with your coworkers through games, and expand your network here at NJR. Light refreshments will be served. This event is open to all employees, but space is limited. Click here to register.
Employee Recognition Candy Gram Sale Everyone has someone they’re thankful for! Show your appreciation to a friend or colleague with a candy gram. Stop by the Wall GO cafeteria to order your candy gram ($1-2), which will be delivered personally by a SWAG member. All proceeds benefit nonprofit Dottie’s House. To purchase a candy gram from an outlying location, send us an e-mail.
Northrup Grumman
VIRTUAL
NGWIN Professional Development Workshop Flory Ellis, Director of Global Expansion, Global Strategy and Mission Solutions, Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, will provide an overview of international performance and leadership.
Supporting Women in the Workplace, an engaging discussion moderated by our own Enterprise Co-Chairs Ellen Quinn and Ellen Stackpole. Panelists will be with a live audience in Irving, TX, where the group will address the many different ways we can support women in the workplace. Check the IWD website for connection details coming soon.
AZUSA
All Month Daily emails with biographies of women in STEM
March 8 Wear purple day and group picture
Off-site Networking Event Collaborating with Connect1NG Alma mater theme: attendees are encouraged to wear apparel from their college
Guest Speaker Collaborating with SPROUT Spring cleaning/organizing/ balancing work and life
BALTIMORE
A Catalyst for Leadership – Women’s History Month Panel Northrop Grumman leaders will discuss their career paths and the experiences that helped them develop into leaders. Panelists include: • Mark Caylor, corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems sector • Andrea Yeiser, VP of Cold Logic and Sector Executive Sponsor of NGWIN-STEM • Leah Hooten, Program Director for Vesuvius • Januca Berry, Program Manager Lunch and networking begin at 11:30am in the Central building auditorium, followed by a panel discussion from 12-1pm, which will be moderated by Becca Tittsworth, HR Business Partner for Airborne C4ISR. All employees are welcome!
SUNNYVALE
March 14 Pie & Trivia Celebrate Women’s History Month and Pie Day, highlighting women in math and science in a fun and delicious way.
UNITED KINGDOM/SPERRY MARINE
All Month Awareness/Fundraising for Hestia Hestia is an organisation working with vulnerable adults and children who find themselves in crisis and provides ongoing support to help transform their lives.
Week of March 5 Interviews with Inspiring Women in Northrop Grumman Published daily on the Sperry Intranet
March 8 Wear Purple to Work Day
A series of exciting yet challenging drop-in workshops run throughout the evening from code breakers to cyber defence.
WOODLAND HILLS
March 14 PIE Day Woodland Hills MPR & Skype We will have a panel discussion about PIE (Performance Image and Exposure) featuring female executives, and have a pie competition on campus to celebrate PI Day and Women’s History Month
OppenheimerFunds
Women’s Network All-Hands Meeting – Aniket Shah, Head of Sustainability and ESG, and Glen Yelton, VP ESG and Impact Analysis, will join the Women’s Network to kick-off Women’s History Month.
Talk by Charlotte S. Waisman, Ph.D., co-author of Her Story, a timeline of the women who changed America. The talk is 45 minutes followed by networking.
United Nations Headquarters in New York
OppenheimerFunds is sponsoring the Welcome Reception for the “Using Technology and Innovation to Bridge the Rural/Urban Digital Gap” session. The 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from March 12 to 23.
Attendees will listen to a talk by Charlotte S. Waisman, Ph.D., co-author of Her Story, a timeline of the women who changed America. The talk is 45 minutes followed by networking.
OppenheimerFunds is sponsoring a table at the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, an organization that inspires by celebrating and sharing the enduring contributions of Colorado’s extraordinary women.
Sodexo
Every year, Sodexo deploys a global International Women’s Day (IWD) campaign usually in the month of March. The IWD campaign communicates and promotes how Sodexo is empowering women in communities around the world through its role as an employer, service provider and responsible corporate citizen. Because when women are held back, we’re all held back and that means, when women are empowered, we’re all empowered. Sodexo will engage all employees to recognize that women’s empowerment and gender balance are everyone’s business. The theme of our 2018 International Women’s Day Campaign “We’re making every day International Women’s Day,” is not just a celebration on March 8. We will promote tips for promoting gender balance and inclusion in the workplace all year long, in addition to sharing a new call to action video, digital and printed campaign materials and organizing local events. With this campaign we also celebrate our ongoing efforts, such as setting targets and creating personal and professional development, mentoring, training, supporting gender networks and raising awareness about gender-related issues. We currently have more than 15 gender networks in 15 countries with over 2500 members.
Internal celebrations will be announced and promoted using graphics on our intranet and social media. Videos, posters, flyers, signature seals, a 12-month interactive calendar along with a series of external and internal webinars are some of the many resources we are leveraging. On March 8th, our Gender and Hispanic Employee Business Resource Groups will co-host, both virtually and live, an internal IWD webinar panel and broadcasting the Diversity Best Practices IWD #PressforProgress webinar. Rohini Anand, SVP & Global Chief Diversity Officer, will be featured in both. In 2016, 46 countries participated in campaign activities increasing to 69 countries in 2017!
The following are initiatives that compliment International Women’s Day celebrations, making every day at Sodexo a day to recognize women:
Sodexo has now signed the United Nations Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) in 25 countries! The CEO Statement of Support encourages business leaders to use the seven Women’s Empowerment Principles as guide posts for actions that advance and empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community.
Sodexo leaders from around the world have endorsed the WEPs in North America, Latin America, Brazil, United Kingdom, Benelux, Mediterranean, Nordic, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions. These signatures align with our Better Tomorrow 2025 commitments to promote gender balance and improve quality of life for women.
USA CEO Lorna Donatone’s signing quote stated: “We cannot build a better tomorrow without empowered, gender diverse teams. Ensuring that we have created an environment that attracts, retains and develops women leaders is paramount to my role as CEO and Region Chair of North America and to those in leadership at Sodexo. It’s great to recruit women into our company, but we must also offer a foundation that allows them to flourish and grow in their career while they are here. I take that responsibility very personally.”
Our Diversity Relations community engagements provide a range of opportunities that offers initiatives leveraged by women to expand their web of influence and advance their professional development. Our women managers and senior leaders participate at industry conferences and engage in speaking opportunities such as Women in Foodservice Forum, Catalyst, Working Mother/Diversity Best Practices and Diversity Woman. In addition, we educate women on how to practice healthier lifestyles through wellness and positive eating habits as they elevate their family’s well-being. We are committed to being catalysts to healthy communities we serve.
Sodexo has committed to freedom from violence and harassment in the workplace because violence against women is recognized as a widespread barrier to the advancement of women. To improve quality of life for women in the countries where we operate, Sodexo has developed awareness and training campaigns to address violence against women in India, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Columbia, and Brazil. We are also working with organizations that support survivors of violence by providing employment opportunities to women that have suffered from violence. Sodexo is also holding a leadership role on this topic, as part of the Business for Social Responsibility Collaborative Group called Business Action for Women.
At Sodexo, we have a comprehensive approach to celebrating “International Women’s Day” that lasts for more than just the Day, and we have named our campaign “Making Every Day International Women’s Day!”
- Globally, we offer a toolkit that can be customized to meet the needs of each region. In addition, we are hosting a webinar series on topics that serve to engage female talent, e.g. work/life flexibility [“Flexible Leaders Optimize Work”], and to foster an inclusive environment, e.g. mitigating unconscious bias [“Beyond Bias”].
- In the US, WiNG (stands for Women’s Network Group) – Employee Business Resource Group, is hosting an in person networking reception where we will be engaging a panel discussion with four of Sodexo’s women leaders to learn about the joys and challenges of their careers in Sodexo’s global environment. Those who are unable to attend in person, can access the panel virtually.
S&P Global
S&P Global is proud to acknowledge Women’s History Month in honor of the momentous achievements of women trailblazers, innovators and leaders around the world. Our largest Employee Resource Group, WINS (Women’s Initiative for Networking and Success), is spearheading our celebrations across our 20 chapters and 5,000 members. Each location is committed to providing programming that serves our core mission: attract diverse talent to S&P Global; retain and engage diverse talent; support the growth of female entrepreneurs or elevate progress in (or interest in) the STEM fields. Here’s a sampling:
Our largest WINS network in New York City, with our Hispanic/Latino Employee Resource Group (ERG), Adelante, is welcoming Rosario Marin. Rosario is an entrepreneur, international public speaker and author. She served in Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cabinet as Secretary of the State and Consumer Services Agency, and was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as the 41st Treasurer of the United States where she had oversight of the U.S. Mint and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. She will discuss her professional journey, driving innovative transformation and leading today’s millennial talent.
Our Islamabad, Pakistan network is hosting an interactive session with our digital innovation ERG, LEAD (Leading, Empowering and Accelerating Digital) with the theme #PressforProgress. The event features success stories from WINS leaders and a panel discussion on the workplace of the future, including a highly relevant topic– women’s participation in the labor force is a key determinant to unlocking economic growth.
The Ahmedabad network is featuring a financial planning and investment seminar to build greater financial independence in women.
In Europe WINS members will engage with an external career coach for career pathing discussions. Our Paris network is focusing on The Power to Influence. Stockholm explores the impact of social protests to advance progress and women’s issues in Iran at the Medelhavsmuseet, a museum in Stockholm with collections of ancient objects from the Mediterranean and Near East.
Our Latin America network will host a discussion on female empowerment in Mexico and what leadership competencies are critical to career advancement.
Unilever
Unilever Global created a Game-Changers for Gender Equality Microsite, in which employees can nominate/like/comment fellow colleagues who have demonstrated role model behavior. For example, job share employees, men who take paternity leave, women leaders in the factories, etc.
Our GALvanize BRG (Women’s Network) is also hosting a speaker on March 8th – Alison Levine, professional mountain climber, author, and leadership consultant.
VF Corporation
Internally, we will post weekly on our intranet several profiles of women leaders throughout the month featuring women from around the world
In Hong Kong, we will host our first Asia Women’s Summit for high potential women leaders within the region using the #PressforProgress theme
We will host a meeting with our local women’s ERG featuring our CHRO, Anita Graham and one of our women board members
Lastly, we debut the second edition of our “I&D: Profiles in Leadership” video series featuring Carol Roberts from our board of directors and our CHRO, Anita Graham on International Women’s Day
Zurich North America
Zurich North America is celebrating National Women’s History month, as well as International Women’s Day, which takes place on March 8th. Zurich continues to be recognized for its advocacy of women from organizations that include: Insurance Business America, National Association of Female Executives (NAFE), Working Women, and most recently Forbes, “Best Employers for Diversity list.”
Lori Bailey, Head of Zurich’s Women’s Innovation Network (WIN), is enthusiastic about the events being held in North America during March, and is also committed to WIN’s 2018 strategy, which will inspire WIN engagement, develop professional skills and personal brand, and connect WIN externally. In addition to National Women’s History month in the U.S., Zurich is also observing International Women’s Day in countries throughout the world.
WIN has planned a robust month of programming that will focus around unity, celebration, and advocacy. These events include:
“Press for Progress” panel discussion. Female employees on the panel will share how they have made connections throughout their careers, have been inspired by others, and share some insight on how they have developed themselves in order to help advancement of their careers.
Connecting with Zurich North America CEO Kathleen Savio event. This is the first session of a new series sponsored by WIN that provides an opportunity for employees to connect with a Zurich leader. During the discussion Kathleen will share insights on how she made developments in her career as well as how she has been inspired.
Professional Headshots. Employees will have an opportunity to have a professional headshot taken. The headshots can then be used internally within Zurich as well as for LinkedIn and other professional purposes.
Panel discussion on Moving Women in to Positions of Leadership and How to Bring Men into the Conversation. Lori Bailey will be moderating a panel discussion which will include executives from Boston’s business community and will discuss the challenges facing women as they climb the corporate ladder. This event is being hosted with PLUS Women’s Leadership network.
