International women's day 2024

I have thought long and hard how to approach International Women's day from a business and personal perspective!

As a female business owner, a small social start up, mother of 2 daughters, single mother and woman I experience the struggles first hand on a daily basis.

One question that popped up over and over was:

Should I post something on this day that has any connection to my business? 

I am not going to shout out discounts for the 8th March 2024 to attract attention, leads or sales although that is what my business depends on and what makes a little business like BOLDred survive! Nor am I going to announce in detail that BOLDred is about empowerment, dignity and enabling people who menstruate to partake in society. Be it because they can menstruate with dignity, access education and other institutions during their menstruation because they have access to menstrual products - which by the way many girls, women and people who menstruate do not have around the world. 

No, international women's day is about solidarity, a feminist approach and fight to break down patriarchal structures that keep discrepancies, inequalities and gender stereotypes alive. 

International women's day is about speaking up as a collective, fighting for equal rights - equal pay; care work that is shared; access to education and health services; research that includes women and their bodies too to understand better the needs of our bodies than comparing them to male bodies and all the research that surrounds them; safety from gender-specific violence and abuse; the right to decide what is best for oneself and not what governments and societies tell us is right; our bodies not being the property of others but belonging solely to us alone! Being respected for who we are regardless of our look and visible attributes, gender, identity, cultural background or else. 

International women's day is about acknowledging the gap that continues to exist in the work environment, within politics, decision-makers, game-changers and people in power, speaking up and pointing out the imbalances to work and fight for a more diversified approach in all these areas!

International women's day is a day where I can show my children that fighting for equal rights is necessary, speaking up so important, demonstrating as a collective a sign of strength and that the path ahead is a long one. We have a lot of work to do - all of us! So, even the tiniest step in the right direction is priceless if it means my children and any others grow up more critical of their environment and stand up for their rights. They see their mothers and other women around them set up businesses, work towards financial independence, they want to make a change and see it as necessary to make an impact with their undertakings. That is why I set up BOLDred. To empower! To break down stigma and taboos that exist still today and still leave such deep marks. Those are the baby steps in the right direction! Period!

Therefore: 

(https://www.unwomen.org/en/get-involved/international-womens-day)

Stand up! Shout loud! Make yourself heard! Be BOLD!