International Women's Day: 10 Ways to Celebrate Women

International Women’s Day is in March but that doesn’t mean that’s the only day you should be supporting the ladies in your lives. Imagine a gender-equal world without bias, stereotypes, discrimination, or worse. That’s the goal of International Women’s Day – to #BreakTheBias.

It’s about taking action for equality and, as a company that was created by a woman, Name Bubbles takes this charge seriously. We also believe that supporting women in subtle, meaningful, and everyday ways can be the foundation for success. While big gestures and a strong stance is important, changing mindsets and showing support can be more lasting. These following 10 ideas are ways you can support women close to you and around the globe.

1) Celebrate Someone’s Success.

Odds are pretty good that there’s a female in your social circle (LinkedIn and Facebook are good places to look) who has had a recent professional success or personal accomplishment. Sure, you can simply click the like button, but why not go a step further and send them a DM telling them that you’re proud of them and their achievements. Guess what? This not only brightens their day but it’s good for you to develop a positive habit of uplifting and supporting other women.

2) Embrace Your Tribe.

Do you have a small group of key gal pals? Your girls’ night out ladies? Why not show them how important they are to you with a small token. Our Design Your Own labels are wonderful idea as you can put anything you want on them. Then they can be attached to any item as a regular reminder of your strong crew. We see a lot of our labels being used for drinkware (most frequently wine glasses, water bottles, and coffee mugs), keychains, and as messages on picture frames. A regular reminder of your support system can be the one thing that uplifts someone when they need it most.

3) Shop at a Female-Owned Company.

What businesses do you know that are owned by women? You could visit a local coffee shop or store, buy something from a friend who sells products for a multi-level marketing company, make an online purchase from a female-owned company, support a crafter on etsy, or you could justify a Girl Scout cookie purchase. There are a lot of ways to support the professional efforts and aspirations of other women.

4) Donate Your Clothing.

There are some great companies that take gently-worn business clothing items and give them to women who can’t afford to look the part when they interview for their dream job. Your old clothing could make all the difference to them and change the trajectory of their lives. One company known for this is Dress for Success, but there may be a local group near you that does similar work.

5) Become a Mentor.

This is a bigger commitment but it’s worth every minute you spend sharing your knowledge and skill to help another woman achieve their dreams. You can take part in mentoring through official programs at local high schools or colleges, through joining organizations like Big Brother and Big Sister, becoming a coach, or sharing your skills by teaching a continuing education class. There are many ways you can give others the wisdom you’ve discovered throughout your lifetime. 

6) Offer to Help.

It’s no surprise to many women, especially busy mothers who are juggling just about everything, that sometimes you can use a little help. Not only that, but we all know the mental load is real. How you offer to help and what you do could be something as simple as opening a door or helping carry heavy groceries or something more involved like picking up kids from school and taking care of them for a couple hours or making dinner once a week. You get to decide what you’re going to do but that offer of help might mean more than you realize to a stressed-out woman who is just trying to get through the day.

7) Promote Women.

Word of mouth and social media are great ways to promote others. Whether you thank your friend for her support over the years or you give a female-owned business a great review, there are a lot of ways to promote women that don’t cost anything and don’t take much time. It’s about being there for women to help them be stronger on their own and that’s pretty powerful.

8) Listen.

Sometimes having a solution isn’t the way to fix a problem. Try being an active listener to everyone around you, not just women, and see what a difference that can make. This is a big problem in our society; people don’t really listen to what the other person is telling them and that not only shortens your understanding of what they’re saying, it makes them feel like they’re not heard – which they’re not. This is a huge complaint from women around the globe. By becoming a better listener, you strengthen the self-esteem of others.

9) Win and Work Together.

Join a group of women and enjoy empowering each other through shared activities. There are so many groups in your community that give you the opportunity to do more with other women. From fitness classes to sip and paint events, poetry readings to team sports – the opportunities are almost unlimited, all you have to do is find something that interests you and get involved. It’s this enjoyed time together and teamwork that’s powerful and meaningful and it helps destroy the outdated notion of female rivalry.

10) Empower Yourself.

Being a strong and positive person (male, female, whatever) can empower everyone around you. Change your internal dialogue to one that is positive and encouraging. It’s not as easy as it sounds and takes regular work, but the results are exponential and teach others around you that loving themselves and being positive is nothing to be ashamed of, it’s something to celebrate.

At Name Bubbles, we believe is supporting women and think International Women’s Day is important, but we believe it goes well beyond one day. This is a commitment that everyone needs to make to support and uplift all females in their lives. Our lives are better without gender discrimination, and you can make that happen.