How the Events Industry Can Get Involved in International Women's Day

International Women’s Day, held on March 8, is a once-a-year opportunity to celebrate the achievement of women around the world. This year's theme is equality, so expect to see #eachforequal trending throughout social media in March and be ready to get involved. As an industry dominated by women, the day presents a unique opportunity to raise the profile of what event professionals do.
 
For the fourth year running, the team at Positive Impact Events are working to make it easier for event professionals to get involved and help further gender equality, which is goal 5 of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
 
The call to action of this year's "Girls Creating" campaign from Positive Impact Events is to "acknowledge someone who has inspired you to champion equality." And for the first time ever, the campaign is being co-created. Courtney Stanley, the 2020 co-creator, has received a range of awards and acknowledgements for her work on equality. But most importantly, she is in action on this subject within the event industry, most recently with her #daretointerrupt podcast.
 
"I appreciate that this campaign is centered around taking the time to acknowledge and thank women who have supported and inspired other women," said Stanley. "This action will create a strong foundation for collaboration across the industry and collaboration is vital as we continue to tackle challenging topics including pay equality, sexual harassment and equal access to professional development."
 
In 2019, over 60 event professionals took action to acknowledge their peers and colleagues who had made a difference in their career journey and over 11,000 event professionals were part of the conversation. This year, the call to action is for every event professional to take the time to celebrate those women who have inspired equality either by posting via the Positive Impact Events website (where a unique online system captures your acknowledgement) or via social media using the hashtags #eachforequal, #GirlsCreating and #eventprofs and tagging us @pievents.
 
During International Women’s Day, event professionals can also take part in a webinar with inspiring female CEO leaders from around the world and read interviews on overcoming challenges, inspiring future generations and the importance of equality. This International Women’s Day, use your voice to acknowledge someone who inspires you and create a foundation of collaboration to tackle the equality gaps that still exist.

Fiona Pelham is the CEO of Positive Impact Events, which aims to create a sustainable event industry through education and collaboration opportunities. She is also the chair of ISO 20121, the international organization for sustainable standardization.