DBP Members Celebrate Women’s History Month 2023

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:

• Standing Up for Change
• The Women of NASA
• Legislating History
• Timeline: Women in the Olympics
• Maria Tallchief: America’s Prima Ballerina

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:

• Women for Women International
• Running Start
• National Women’s Law Center
• Girls Inc.
• Trans Women of Color Collective

Below, see what some DBP members are doing to honor Women’s History Month in 2023.

Aramark

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:

• March 6: Kicking off the March celebration, three ERGs provided a presentation on intersectionality and the diverse women who have paved the way for women in the continued fight for equality. The session concluded with a dynamic keynote presentation by Chef Grace Ramirez who is a culinary expert, philanthropic activist, author, television broadcaster, and ambassador of Latin food culture. From competing on MasterChef USA to helping World Central Kitchen distribute meals to those in need, Chef Grace continues to use her cooking skills to bring people together.
• March 13: At the Women’s Food Service Forum (WFF) in Dallas, Texas, EMPOWER is hosting an in-person panel and networking opportunity. During the event, attendees will get to hear some of Aramark’s executive leaders as they discuss the power of inspiration and professional growth.
• March 21: EMPOWER hosted their famous #EMPOWERHour, with a discussion on influencing with impact.
• March 29: In partnership with their sister ERG, Nourish (Dieticians at Aramark), EMPOWER is hosting a powerful discussion on diet culture and ways to balance health and wellness. Following the event, EMPOWER will close out the month-long celebration with an annual awards ceremony. They will recognize women leaders for their work in the ERG and their commitment to driving diversity, equity, and inclusion among ERG members and beyond.

Capgemini

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, Inc.

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.

EY

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:

• Identify and establish the role and actions of allies, advocates, sponsors, and mentors
• Encourage our people to become mentors through EY’s voluntary mentoring program
• Complete an EY storytelling master class so participants can learn to craft, enhance, and evolve their personal stories
• Build better and more meaningful connections and work effectively across differences
• Recognize and address inclusion/exclusion dynamics
• Inspire, influence and drive purposeful action to advance gender equity

As part of Women’s History Month, EY US is encouraging employees to participate in gender equity specific corporate responsibility initiatives, including:

• EY’s Consulting Talent Leader Sonia Sande will speak during Catalyst’s International Women’s Day Webinar entitled: Impacting Positive Change by Embracing Equity. As a Catalyst CEO Champion For Change signatory, EY has pledged to advance the representation of women in senior-level positions and on the leadership board, actively sponsoring a diverse group of women, and sharing key representation metrics with Catalyst for benchmarking and anonymized reporting of aggregate progress.
• EY’s Ripples Corporate Responsibility program has activities for EY volunteers to champion gender equality

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.

Freddie Mac

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

Fresenius Kabi’s Women’s VOICE Employee Impact Group (EIG) will host the following programs for Women’s History Month:

• A panel discussion with women leaders on embracing equity in the workplace, their career journey, how they balance home/work
• Sharing information on how men can be allies
• Launching a DEI blog, with the director of DEI. The first topic will revolve around “Equity.”
• A campaign to inform employees how to join the Women’s VOICE EIG
• Supporting service opportunities across the company’s US sites of donation drives for women’s shelters
• The group also gathers #EmbraceEquity photos and shares them internally and externally.

Throughout the month, Fresenius Kabi USA’s LinkedIn will have the following campaigns:

• March 1: Post recognizing Women’s History Month beginning
• March 8: Post recognizing International Women’s Day and this year’s theme: #EmbraceEquity
• March 16: Recap post of the internal Women’s VOICE #EmbraceEquity panel discussion

March 31: Women’s History Month wrap-up and message of continued commitment and support

Gallagher

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

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:

• Occupational therapists in Alaska who provide tailored care for the Indigenous patients they serve
• An executive who works passionately to prevent veteran suicide
• A speech pathologist who has started transformational programs in her division for patients with aphasia
• A nurse who guides patients through their cancer journeys

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 BCBC-NJ

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 LLP

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 Bank, N.A.

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 257^sm: 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:

• Women Connect Chicago
  • In-person watch party
  • Walk & Talk events on March 8 and 16 for members
  • Women Connect Colorado EBRG
    • In-person watch party and potluck lunch
  • Women Connect Dayton EBRG
    • In-person watch party and post-event discussion board
    • Month-long Women’s History Month email trivia
  • Women Connect Detroit EBRG
    • In-person watch party
  • Women Connect Eastern Carolinas
    • In-person watch parties in two office locations
  • Women Connect Pittsburgh EBRG
    • In-person watch party and post-event discussion
  • Women Connect Western Michigan EBRG
    • In-person watch party

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:

• Promotion of a PNC Insights article highlighting Lessons in Leadership featuring Vicki Saunders, Founder and CEO of #PNCProject257 partner, Coralus.
  • A new series of “shorts” that PNC sponsors featuring Women in Esports will continue publishing via the Pittsburgh Knights social accounts.
  • A Women in Baseball series, in partnership with MLB, that will highlight 6 women from each of the teams PNC partners with (Pirates, Reds, Rockies, Marlins, Astros, Nationals) throughout the season. PNC and MLB are in discussions to have content live for International Women’s Day (March 8).

Southern New Hampshire University

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:

• Mind Matters – Mental Health Conversation Room Topic: “Mental Health Impacts of Reproductive-Related Events.” Participants will watch and discuss TED Talks about how miscarriage, child loss, postpartum depression/psychosis, and more effect the mental health of parents/guardians to raise awareness of what many colleagues struggle through silently.
• Tuesday Talks – DEIBJ (diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, justice) Conversation Room Topic: “Historically Ignored High Rates of Missing Women of Color.” Participants will watch and discuss recordings about the high rates of missing women of color, both in the past and currently, and how the media and society ignore the problem.
• Global and Campus Event: Agents of Change Social Sciences Podcast Event – Virtual International Women’s Day Panel Topic: “Who Is Your Wonder Woman?” Social Sciences Deans are holding a live podcast event to celebrate International Women’s Day with panelists from across the university.
• The campus’s Women’s Center will host an International Women’s Day Breakfast.

Unity

Unity will be celebrating Women’s History Month with the following events:

• A fireside chat discussing “Women Who Inspire”
• A panel discussion on “Un-gating the Leadership Path”
• An International Women’s Day Social Hour
• Watch party for TED Talks that center on this year’s Women’s History Month theme: “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories”
• A panel discussion on “Perception and Culture Surrounding Women in the Media”
• Virtual Volunteering for employees to share their tech journey with young women interested in STEM careers
• A matching campaign for global nonprofit organizations focused on improving the lives of women

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.

UScellular

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:

• Celebrating UScelluar’s partnership with Girls Who Code
• Spotlighting UScellular associates throughout the month of March in the company newsletter, as well as on social media
• Hosting panel discussions and professional speaker events for all UScellular associates
• Implementing a workshop highlighting ways UScellular associates can build allies for gender equity across UScellular and its sister companies, TDS Corporation and TDS Telecom
• Sponsoring donation drives for women’s charities in various cities where the company operates

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. 

Verisk

To celebrate Women’s History month, Verisk will host the following events for employees:

• The Krakow Women Employee Network will be hosting a movie on voting rights for women and will have a discussion following the movie to unpack it with employees.
• The Jersey City Women Employee Network will be hosting a panel featuring women in the company’s Senior Operating Committee, which includes the CHRO, CMO, CLO, and head of Corporate Development and Strategy.
• The Global Women Employee Network is also hosting a book event with a CNBC author.

Follow along on Verisk’s LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for more ways the company will be celebrating throughout the month.

Verizon

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:

• Pathways to success as a #WomanInTech, a panel of inspiring and amazing women, including former V Teamer Judy Spitz, founder of Breakthrough Tech, and Flora White, managing director of Girls in Tech. Employees will also hear from two women who have gone on to success after being a part of these two great programs. They will share their pathways to success in tech, along with what got them there and what resources helped them stay engaged and excited about a career in tech. The panelists will also talk about career tips, challenges, and opportunities that have shaped them into the leaders they are today.
• “Men Advocating Real Change” led by Catalyst speaker Sandra Ondraschek-Norris, VP of Global MARC Learning. This conversation will cover the what, why, and how of engaging men as advocates of equity and inclusion. This will be a 45-minute session where Sandra will take a deep dive into several discussions on engaging men to be advocates for equity and inclusion with women in the workplace, how to engage in the conversation, and being comfortable being a part of the conversation.
• Keynote conversation with speakers Sam Hammock, Executive VP and Chief Human Resources Officer, and Carol Kinsey Goman, President of Kinsey Consulting Services, international speaker, and author. This will be the last event for Women’s History Month and will be hosted as a fireside chat between these two amazing women in leadership around their career journeys, navigating their paths to success as women in technology, and overcoming obstacles along the way.

Westfield

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.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

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.