A post-mortem & proposal
Reinventing International Women's Day
Photo of someone vacuuming up confetti from a carpet
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Well, we did it: We got through International Women’s Day.
Time to put that hashtag on the shelf for another year, next to the plastic jack-o-lantern and the turkey centerpiece; time to clear away the confetti and champagne bottles, and rest the finger that was so busy “liking” things yesterday.
Time to look around and ask: Is anything different?
That’s a glib question, of course, because the point of IWD isn’t to change the world overnight. But what IS the point, exactly?
Every campaign, every strategy, starts with a goal. According to the official IWD website, the purpose of this day is two-fold: to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and to mark a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
I have to say, as goals go, these are weak.
The call to action to accelerate parity is the stronger of the two, because it’s outcome-oriented. And yet, still, there is something insulting about taking one day to say, “Hey, let’s help the ladies.” The world is on fire, and women and girls are burning fastest; on the flip side, every dollar we invest in keeping women out of the fire protects not only them but also their families and communities, and the health of our society and our economy. To designate one day to amplify a call to action is like watching a forest burn, year-round, and then once a year, saying, “Hey everyone, pour some water on those flames.” In other words: A symbolic and useless gesture.
As for the other goal of IWD, to celebrate women’s achievements — to what end?? What will people think, feel, believe, or do differently as a result of these celebrations? Will people who don’t already see the light go, “Well gee, those women actually do have something to offer, how about that?” Or will we preach to the choir? If that buoys the choir, well, great, that’s worth something, but in reality, I think most members of the choir are tired of singing for each other….exhausted, really.
Speaking for myself, I don’t need to be celebrated, for one day, if you still pay me less and cut me off at the knees every time I try to grow my economic power, if you still rob me and my daughter of the right to our bodies’ sovereignty, and so on.
As Cindy Gallop said on LinkedIn,
“On #InternationalWomensDay - and EVERY OTHER DAY - don't use words like 'empower' and 'celebrate'. Instead, use words like 'hire', 'promote', 'pay', 'raise', 'bonus', 'fund', 'invest in', 'enrich', 'give equity to', 'elect', 'lead' - and don't just say it, DO IT.”
Amen, amen, amen.
Now, part of me wants to play the devil’s advocate of moderation and say: Why NOT take a day to celebrate women, and to call attention to the need for gender parity, and also spend every other day fighting for a world where people of all genders are given equal rights and opportunities?
As Amber Tamblyn reasons in her excellent newsletter, Listening in the Dark, as she considers not just International Women’s Day but National Women’s History Month,
“It’s National Women’s History Month, and I’ve been reflecting on what, exactly, this celebration is supposed to mean for us. I’ve always bristled slightly at the notion that the country gives us this crumb of time to celebrate ourselves—A whole month?! Just for us?! Oh, thank you!—before returning back to the status quo. Should we feel honored? Should we feel satisfied with this finite offering of acknowledgement? Should we fill feminist hashtags with posts of gratitude then call it a day come April 1st? What exactly should we do with a month that’s supposed to be all about us and for us?
This year, I’ve decided to lean into the potential of this month to make it a little more personal. I’m challenging myself to think of it less as an empty symbolic gesture and more of a meaningful assignment: to honor what womanhood has given me, and to honor the transformative stories from my life that have brought me immense joy and creative growth, and to uplift and thank the women who have supported me along the way.”
This resonates deeply. Do we rail against the empty gesture, or do we use our agency and creativity to infuse it with meaning? After all, while countless brands co-opt International Women’s Day with meaningless posturing, many organizations doing critical work for women take the opportunity of this day to highlight their work in elevated ways. While the noise of the day may cancel out anyone’s ability to truly break through, if it yields increased awareness or support for any one of the thousands of incredible organizations working day in and day out to make things better for women, then — that’s a net positive, right?
And yet. And yet, I can’t help but feel like IWD is an insulting distraction. Leave it to Cindy Gallop, once again, to get right to the heart of the matter:
“To every brand I would say: forget the #InternationalWomensDay campaign and take a long, hard look at yourself…If for the women within your own company, you’re not providing equality of opportunity, of pay, of promotion, of leadership and of support–then do not do anything on IWD. Fix yourself first.”
(Read more: How brands co-opted International Women’s Day
If, as Tamblyn put it, National Women’s History Month is a “crumb,” what does that make International Women’s Day? A sub-crumb? A morsel?
Enough is enough. We shouldn’t have to bend and twist ourselves to turn the insufficient gesture of IWD (or National Women’s History Month, for that matter) into something that means something. We twist ourselves like that every single day. We find the good, the hope, the creative solution. It feels so unpleasant, so unconstructive, to embrace the alternative, which is to say: Take your day, your month, your hashtag, and shove it. But maybe it’s not unpleasant, it’s honest; and maybe it’s not unconstructive, it’s the opposite, because it preserves our creative energy and integrity.
What if instead of bending and twisting to make morsels into a meal (something women have been doing since the dawn of time), we designed ourselves a feast? What would that look like?
For example, here’s an idea I’ve been playing with, and I’d love to know your thoughts: What if we created a “campaign” that spent 364 days a year celebrating women and issuing strategic calls to action for gender parity? And then what if, one day a year, on March 8, we got very, very quiet; if we paused all the hashtags, and took a moment of silence to honor all of of the women and girls that the fire has already burned? Could we get underwriting for such a “campaign,” for such a sea-change level of investment in strategic communication capacity for women’s organizations, and in strategic feminist marketing from corporations (geared to useful calls to action, not just empty “yay women” messaging)?
I know a lot of you might feel like you’re already spending all day every day doing the things that IWD invites us to do once a year, and you very well may be, but as we look at the painfully slow pace of progress for women and girls, we have to ask, what could we be doing differently? What new strategies or messages do we need to embrace?
Perhaps rejecting IWD — rejecting morsels — is a place to start.
To once again quote Cindy Gallop,
“Out of adversity comes opportunity. It's only when things break down as completely as they are currently, that new models and ways of doing things are enabled to emerge that never could have previously.”
So let’s hear it: Which funders will step up to the plate and fund a brand new approach to International Women’s Day, one that has all of us getting louder on behalf of women 364 days a year, not just one — and taking that one day a year as a moment of silence?
I’d love to hear your “post-mortem” thoughts about IWD in the comments section (a benefit for paid subscribers). What felt good or inspiring about the IWD activity you witnessed this year, and what felt empty or counterproductive? What ideas do you have for how it could be different?
You are a mighty force.
- Amanda