The celebration of Women’s History Month started in 1981 when Congress passed legislation that requested the President proclaim the week of March 7, 1982, as Women’s History Week. By 1987, March was named Women’s History Month. March encompasses International Women’s Day (March 8), a global event that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
The National Women’s History Alliance has created the 2023 theme “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories” to encourage recognition of women, past and present, who have been active in all forms of media and storytelling. Women have long been instrumental in passing on stories of challenges and triumphs in word and print to communicate the lessons of those who came before. Women’s stories and the larger human story expand understanding and strengthen connections.
There are many virtual offerings this year to celebrate Women’s History Month. People can tour online exhibits such as these:
Charitable donations to organizations promoting and advancing women and girls around the world is another option to show support throughout the month. Some organizations include:
Below, see what some DBP members are doing to honor Women’s History Month in 2023.
Aramark’s EMPOWER ERG is celebrating in alignment with this year’s theme, Inspire Together, by hosting a variety of events throughout the month that focus on empowerment, education, history, and intersectionality:
Capgemini has several events for members and employees for Women’s History Month. One event will be a live streamed Q&A session with some of the senior-level executives who will share insights and perspectives on their business units and what it takes to lead across Capgemini. There will also be open discussions with employees and women leaders about what it means to #EmbraceEquity. To increase in-person engagement, the company will host in-office women’s leadership lunches that will allow for networking opportunities, storytelling, and candid conversations. There will also be virtual appreciation boards that all employees can access and post appreciation notes to.
In celebration of the month, Capgemini will be launching its first episode of a podcast called “Women in Digital.” In this premiere, a discussion on Becoming a Change Agent will be had with an executive-level woman at Capgemini. In addition, Capgemini is planning to host an influential external speaker and activist to have a live streamed conversation with employees about gender equality.
Capgemini will also have a LinkedIn “Appreciation Campaign” where employees are encouraged to make an appreciation post for an impactful woman in their lives. To increase awareness of this, leadership will be posting regularly to create more visibility.
Constellation Brands’ WISE BRG (U.S.) will host a flagship event exploring current themes of allyship with comments from guest speaker, Jenna Arnold, and a panel discussion featuring WISE Executive Sponsors, Tiffanie De Liberty and Stephanie Edge, as well as ¡Salud!, the company’s Hispanic/Latine BRG, Executive Sponsor, Liz Lopez. Jenna Arnold is an activist and author, writing about and speaking to the ever-evolving landscape of American identity. She is a political contributor on national news outlets, was one of the national organizers of the 2017 Women’s March and author of the best-selling book, “Raising Our Hands.” Additionally, local WISE chapters have activations planned such as an IWD 5K, a headshot event, office get-togethers, and watch parties for the flagship event.
The WISE team will also be elevating Constellation’s support of Dress for Success by encouraging Constellation to leverage a 2:1 corporate match and donate to the Your Hour, Her Power initiative which encourages people to donate the equivalent of just one hour of their pay to give a Dress for Success client access to programs, services, and tools that will help her achieve economic advancement.
During Women’s History Month, EY US is producing a firm-wide webcast called “Authentic by Choice, The Power of Your Story.” The audience will be welcomed by Leslie Patterson, EY Americas and US Diversity, Equity, and Inclusiveness Leader, and will feature a panel of EY women who will share their experiences to inspire reflection, conversation, learning, understanding and action around gender equity. Women, allies, sponsors, and mentors are all encouraged to join. Many local Professional Women’s Network chapters across the Americas will join the firmwide webcast through “watch parties” and include additional programming during the day of the webcast, as well as throughout the month.
After attending the webcast, EY wants employees to understand how to better define their own story to create inspiring connections and drive purposeful action to:
As part of Women’s History Month, EY US is encouraging employees to participate in gender equity specific corporate responsibility initiatives, including:
The EY US brand channels will acknowledge and celebrate women throughout the month. Additionally, EY leaders will also post their support on their personal social media channels as women and allies.
Equity in opportunities, advancement, and compensation is a business imperative. While there is always more work to do to advance gender equity within organizations, EY works hard to promote fair practices for all employees. EY has processes and policies in place that focus on equitable work experiences, sponsorship and succession. This is helping increase gender, racial, and ethnic diversity across the company’s leadership ranks.
For Women’s HERstory Month, Freddie Mac’s Women’s Interactive Network (WIN) Business Resource Group (BRG) will recognize women’s contributions to the organization and amplify the International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023 #EmbraceEquity campaign. WIN’s signature all-employee event will be a panel discussion of women leaders sharing their stories, strategies, encouraging words, and challenges to support the continuous professional growth and advancement of women at Freddie Mac.
WIN will also produce a three-part motivational series focused on how to self-advocate and address ageism, racism, sexism, and other potential obstacles in the workplace. In addition, employees are encouraged to participate in IWD’s #EmbraceEquity photo campaign to promote the importance of gender equity. Finally, employees will be encouraged to participate in community engagement and outreach activities throughout the month supporting a local non-profit, Women Giving Back. This month’s activities reflect the company’s commitment to gender equity all year long and our commitment that Freddie Mac should reflect the diverse people we serve.
Fresenius Kabi’s Women’s VOICE Employee Impact Group (EIG) will host the following programs for Women’s History Month:
Throughout the month, Fresenius Kabi USA’s LinkedIn will have the following campaigns:
March 31: Women’s History Month wrap-up and message of continued commitment and support
Gallagher will be sending out emails within all divisions and regions highlighting the importance of International Women’s Day and promoting resources related to women in the internal resource library. Other events to celebrate the month include networking events, coffee chats, weekly micro-learning capsules, a storytelling webinar session, launching a new women’s network within one division, and hosting a podcast.
Gallagher Benefit Services is hosting a Leadership webinar focused on the power of words and thoughtful communication open to anyone who would like to join. Panel members include colleagues from Gallagher, Microsoft, and Walmart Canada. This Leadership Series Webinar is available here. Gallagher is also proud to partner with GenHERation and Dress for Success in a few markets to continue to support the growth and development of women.
Gallagher posts a celebratory message on all of its social media channels globally, translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and French Canadian as necessary. Posts are also curated on the LinkedIn MyCompany tab in English, Spanish, and French Canadian for colleagues to share brand-aligned posts on their personal LinkedIn profiles.
HCA Healthcare will be featuring women from around the enterprise who are providing care in unique ways on an internal blog. Some of the women featured include:
The company will also be hosting a Bold, Relevant, Authentic, Valuable, and Educational (BRAVE) Conversation in celebration of Women’s History Month focused on Women in the Workplace. The BRAVE Conversations program is an opportunity for colleagues to share perspectives and discuss complex and challenging topics through an immersive dialogue experience.
Horizon’s Affinity Group, Women L.E.A.D., will be hosting an annual Women’s History Month celebratory event at the end of March. The event will focus on celebrating women through storytelling and will feature guest speaker Michele C. Meyer-Shipp, Esq., CEO of Dress for Success.
KPMG’s 2023 Women’s History Month Theme is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” The company is hosting a combination of storytelling efforts, events, and educational opportunities. This year, KPMG is celebrating the KPMG Network of Women’s (KNOW) 20th anniversary and will be spotlighting the business resource group’s (BRG) long history of supporting women at the firm. The company is producing a video montage on “advocacy and resilience” that will feature women leaders and their personal stories. KPMG will host a KNOW signature event, “Telling Our Stories,” which will consist of a panel moderated by KNOW BRG Chairs Christine Aspell and Lee Anne Sciambra with Emmy award-winning journalist, documentarian, and author Laura Ling.
For International Women’s Day, KPMG will be supporting women and businesses by hosting external events in collaboration with the firm’s alliance clients and external organizations focused on supporting women in finance/operations, scaling DEI efforts to support women globally, and women on corporate boards. The events of the day will highlight partnerships with Oracle, DHR Global, Workday, and Meta.
KPMG will post social shares and spotlights on KPMG women board directors who serve on the Women Corporate Directors Foundation. Some hashtags to follow include #pathtoparity and #embraceequity. There will also be Instagram and Facebook posts on our KPMG Thrive Social channels.
PNC believes that acknowledging, respecting, and supporting women’s ambitions, goals, and priorities help drive financial equity. PNC has a network of nearly 5,000 employees who are PNC Certified Women’s Business Advocates (WBAs). These WBAs act as allies for women in all aspects of their financial journey, from starting a business to building a future for their families. This network collaborates with women clients and prospects to provide resources and the right products and services to help them achieve their goals.
The company’s purpose-driven initiative, Project 257sm: Accelerating Women’s Financial Equality, was designed to help address the 257-year economic gender gap identified by the World Economic Forum’s 2020 Global Gender Gap Report. Accelerating women’s financial equality embodies the PNC brand purpose: Make a positive difference by leveraging the power of our resources to help all move forward financially.
PNC’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) History and Heritage Thought Leadership speaker series offers programming for employees, clients, prospects and community partners to learn about different traditions, backgrounds, and cultures.
Introduced in 2022, PNC The Thread is D&I’s primary external speaker series, featuring renowned speakers to share their stories and help further PNC’s commitment to fostering a culture of inclusion.
Sarah Culberson, princess of Sierra Leone, joins PNC on March 22 as the featured speaker for the Women’s History Month Event, ‘You Are More Than Your Title.’ She’ll share her story of searching for her biological parents and discovering her royal lineage in Sierra Leone.
Several of our Employee Business Resource Groups (EBRGs) are hosting in-person watch parties for the event to promote engagement and conversations among their peers.
The following EBRG chapters are hosting watch parties and other related engagement opportunities:
PNC The Thread Women’s History Month Event, featuring Princess Sarah Culberson on March 22, is open to clients, prospects, and community partners. PNC employees are encouraged to invite these parties, and others, to attend.
The company will be promoting PNC The Thread Series of D&I Webcasts featuring Keynote Speaker Princess Sarah Culberson on various Social Media channels. See below for some campaigns that PNC will be launching:
Southern New Hampshire University will be celebrating Women’s History Month through the hosting of several events through the President’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, including:
Unity will be celebrating Women’s History Month with the following events:
Unity will also be posting on its social media platforms for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day and will be sharing a blog on a woman creator at Unity.
During Women’s History Month, UScellular celebrates the accomplishments of women, including those who work in technology fields. The company has a suite of initiatives, both internal and external, planned to recognize how our organization supports women, including:
These events are part of UScelluar’s celebration throughout the month, and the events offer time to celebrate women’s achievements and consider the role each employee plays in advancing equity by challenging gender stereotypes and inviting greater inclusion.
To celebrate Women’s History month, Verisk will host the following events for employees:
Follow along on Verisk’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for more ways the company will be celebrating throughout the month.
Verizon will celebrate Women’s History Month in March with the theme “Together We Rise.” The WAVE–Womxn’s Association of Verizon Employees—employee resource group (ERG) will celebrate Women’s History Month with the following three highlighted events:
Westfield will be celebrating Women’s History Month through events hosted by the company’s employee resource group (ERG) for employees, including muscle relaxation to promote well-being, a Sojourner Truth event, Seramount’s International Women’s Day webinar, and an HR panel.
The company will also have a posting campaign that can be viewed on LinkedIn that includes resources from Westfield’s Chief People Officer.
In recognition of International Women’s Day, the WWF Women Rise ERG is hosting an exploration of gender dynamics in conservation on March 8. Staff will have the opportunity to engage in conversation with a panel consisting of Loren Mayor (COO at WWF-US), Gloria Steele (COO at CARE USA), and Cheryl Margoluis (Executive Director, CARE-WWF Alliance) on areas such as the global movement to include women in conservation efforts, vulnerabilities and capacities of women in response to the climate crisis, and tools to support equitable participation and outcomes for women in conservation and climate programming.
