International Women’s Day: What Isn’t Working?

Love it or loathe it, International Women's Day has become an essential date when every employer must... do what, exactly? And why? Does 8 March need a re-think, as well as a re-brand?

In this episode, Julie Scanlon (grumpy) and Tanya de Grunwald (grumpier) discuss whether anything about International Women's Day is still working for employers and employees, including:

- What is International Women's Day? Are we celebrating, protesting or both? And does it even have a place in the world of work?

- What's with the two themes? If the UN's is 'Invest in Women', who dreamed up the rival: 'Inspire Inclusion'? Why are we being told to make hearts with our hands - and might a different gesture better capture how grown women feel about being asked (yet again) to 'be kind'?

- What happens when employers' efforts to mark IWD clash with female employees' resentment around bread-and-butter issues like the gender pay gap, maternity policy, career progression and sexual harassment?

- Can men ever get IWD right - and are LinkedIn posts about their wife/mum/daughter cute or cringe-inducing?

- Are women having an identity crisis in 2024? Are we impossible to please, when female colleagues are divided ourselves, for example over workplace policies on menopause, menstruation and trans inclusion?

- If we had a magic wand, what would we want to see employers do for IWD? How can it be made more meaningful?

- After this 20-minute rant, is there a chance that IWD 2025 will be the best one yet - and Tanya will finally get the point of the whole thing?

Decide for yourself... Enjoy the episode!