International Women’s Day is celebrated annually on 8th March to recognise women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements, raise awareness of discrimination and bias, and inspire and empower us to take action for equality.
The first International Women’s Day was celebrated in 1909 to honour the 1908 garment women’s strike in New York. The women were protesting against their horrific working conditions. As time went on, International Women’s Day continued to be a vehicle of protest. During World War I, for example, the day was used to protest the war in 1975, the holiday was recognized by the United Nations and continues to be celebrated today.
This year the IWD #EmbraceEquity campaign theme is to get the world talking about why equal opportunities are no longer enough, and why equal isn’t always fair.
People start from different places, so true inclusion and belonging require equitable action. If we truly believe in, value and embrace equity, then women are more likely to have access to what’s required to succeed. So on IWD engage in those impactful conversations. Raise awareness. Help forge positive change for women.
Equality versus Equity: What’s the difference?
Accelerate Procurement: a majority female owned business
As a majority female owned business, International Women’s Day is a date particularly close to hearts. Our aim is always to help businesses embrace diversity of thought to help unlock their full potential.
We believe that there are many benefits that come with embracing diversity: smarter ideas and solutions created by people from different backgrounds and experiences.
And we don’t just talk the talk- we practise what we preach. We are proud to be authentic advocates for women in business and supporting other women in business. Here’s how we do it:
– We support mentoring programmes for Women in Procurement and Women in Leadership, including 30% Club, a formal mentoring program that we are involved in as mentors.
– We are one of the founding brands for GenM, the menopause partner for brands who’s mission is to improve the menopause experience for all.
– We believe that women often face this challenge at the peak of their careers, frequently without support and awareness. We are passionate about inspiring good business practice to help keep women in the workplace: we believe that the menopause should be given the same level of importance as parenting and other D&I issues. We believe this deserves to be more than just policy: we work to help brands to recognise there is currently a very large group within the workplace with unmet needs.
– We head up a small support group outside of GenM, which takes a “bookclub approach” with a focus on policy and experience in the workplace.
– We are a member of the WeConnect network which allows big corporations to do business with Women-owned businesses.
Championing diversity in the procurement sector
Being a majority female owned organisation gives us a unique view in the consulting world and creates conversations that go beyond facts and data with a more human touch.
If you’d like to discuss how a partnership with Accelerate could benefit your business, get in touch today.