Vitamin We #25: Discover the Best of International Women's Day 2024

Every day can be Women's Day :)

Author

Editorial Team @We
March 14, 2024

(1351 words)

Hello, beautiful souls!

So much is happening in March - can you feel the change in the air?

This week, we’ve decided to take a look at the news, campaigns, and advocacies for International Women’s Day #IWD2024 and curate a quick round-up in case you’ve been too busy head-down working on your projects!

The fact that we still need IWD shows women are still marginalized in many ways around the globe - progress is still slow to reach gender equality, equal pay, inclusiveness, non-discriminatory policies and practices, and work cultures that are free from harassment, misogyny, and mansplaining.

I wonder if there will be an “International Human Day” soon?

If/When(?) AI and robotics will dominate every aspect of society’s operation, like in sci-fi movies, which eventually makes humans feel we are being marginalized; maybe only by then can humanity finally drop all the labels and unite as ONE. (Hopefully, we can achieve this before it’s too late🫠)

Happy Reading!

- Ponny, Editor @ We Stories

Roundup: International Women's Day 2024

Why do we still need IWD?!

Besides gifting flowers🌹 or chocolates or the efforts in asking staff members to take photos making hand-hearts🫶 to be published on social media campaigns on March 8, how can organizations and public decision-makers do better?

The IWD 2024 campaign theme is Inspire Inclusion…when women themselves are inspired to be included, there's a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment.

Social, Cultural, Economical, Politcal

Sports

2024 will be a bold year for women’s sports!

  • For the first time ever, we have gender equality at the Olympics: The IOC has distributed quota places equally to female and male athletes – 50:50 for the Olympic Games Paris 2024.

  • According to Female Quotient, the Professional Women’s Hockey League started its first season on Jan. 1, and revenue from major women's sports should cross the $1 billion threshold this year.

  • Lululemon started its first-ever women’s ultramarathon, which will last six days from 6 March to celebrate International Women’s Day.

STEM & AI

  • Current numbers: According to UN, Women are typically given smaller research grants than their male colleagues and, while they represent 33.3% of all researchers, only 12% of members of national science academies are women. In cutting-edge fields such as artificial intelligence, only one in five professionals (22%) is a woman.

  • Virgin Australia operated its second-annual all-female flight on 8 March 2024. Less than 45 years ago, no female pilots were flying commercial jets in Australia, so this is definitely a milestone ✈️ 

  • OpenAI reappointed chief executive Sam Altman to the company’s board and named three new female board members

  • UNESCO study reveals alarming evidence of regressive gender stereotypes in Generative AI where they examined Large Language Models (LLMs). Urgent actions are required!

  • Also: Our friend, Emily Carrig at True Stars Media, has previously published a brilliant article on Racial and Gender Bias in AI: A Growing Concern. Check it out!

Brand Initiatives

  • Mattel has announced new Barbie dolls aiming to shine a light on empowering role models to inspire girls with remarkable women’s stories.

  • Häagen-Dazs' The Rose Project commemorates its female co-founder, Rose Mattus, with a $100,000 bursary. They announced the five 2023 winners, chosen from over 2,500 nominees spanning 27 countries, who are making waves in their respective fields, from environmental advocacy to championing women’s rights.

  • DDB New Zealand’s ‘Correct the Internet’ campaign created a one-day media buy to place an ad on Google. The ad shifted the spotlight from Cristiano Ronaldo to Christine Sinclair as the top result for the query, “Who has scored the most goals in international football⚽?” The ad also directed users to the Guinness World Records page, officially recognizing Sinclair’s record.

  • Kotex launched the #ProgressFeelsLike movement: According to a new study released by Kimberly-Clark’s menstrual products brand Kotex, nearly 60% of women express dissatisfaction with the pace of women’s progress, citing stagnation or slow movement. Half of the women surveyed also feel that the world has become more uncomfortable for them.

Women & Wealth (USA)

  • Women are increasingly investing in startups founded by women - “The access to wealth that women have in the U.S. today is really at a historical level. We’re approaching 50% of all wealth being owned by women in the U.S. And that wealth is power if we use it,” said Portfolia founder and CEO Trish Costello.

  • A recent Washington Post article reports that the $30 trillion in Baby Boomer wealth will largely be controlled by women, which is close to the equivalent of the annual U.S. GDP. Being dubbed “The Great Wealth Transfer,” this will not only impact women’s lives, but our society at large.

Are we missing any important IWD initiatives? Share with us in our Telegram Community and continue the conversation!

A Spoken Word Poetry -
#InspireInclusion Poem by Sharena Lee Satti

A Sisterhood Riot
For all sisters who refuse to stay quiet 
For the world
Can we open the iris of our eyes and the eyelids to our soul
Can we be seen for the souls that we show
For the she that she is, the human being
Can we breathe in just one breath
And not have to worry it's one less away from you
Can we be seen as an equal
As this is my right to breathe here too
Not having to distinguish the difference between people
Between she, between her, between females
Can we be Sisters of Sisterhood
With hearts that cluster together like shiny stars in the sky
Some shine brighter in yellow than the majestic color of her red
Together they stand,  no differences between their breath
where the language of love radiates from under the layers of their chest
Where the heart meets words and words meet friends
With a warriorress who cradles one breast
And Sisters share stories over life’s hardship and test
In spaces where inclusivity thrives
Sisters feel empowered sharing stories of their lives 
From one worldly vision, ocean eyes and autumn leaves, swirls of indifference
Their togetherness speaks of injustice of ignorance 
That in one branch they weave together 
In one leaf they breathe together 
Belonging as a whole with each circular grove linked to the bark of the tree 
For we are sisters of the mothers born here and that of across the sea
Our bodies are linked through the Earth’s universal energy  carried through its wind
Through the salt in its sea, through the soil and deep-rooted trees
They are women of different beliefs of empathy, of poetry  of trauma, of hope
Through togetherness there is always a sister who binds the rope
For all sisters to feel included and not shadow banned the ghost
We will continue to create spaces, taking spaces 
Making waves of pure light  
For togetherness starts here
And freedom to exist, to live, to be accepted is our birth right

Summary:

History taught us that whoever owns the narratives shapes the culture!

Let us all continue to give voices to women, telling stories that inspire and empower girls, and build societies that these girls will look forward to growing up in!!!

And, of course, we can’t miss Kelly’s art!

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