It's 2021. Please, stop giving us flowers.
Every March 8th is the same thing. The International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day that is supposed to be a statement, a reminder about what it was (and is) to be a woman in a patriarchal society. It should be an opportunity for reflection, not just for us women, but for everyone to understand that there is still a long way to go — and even a longer way for some marginalized groups of women — until we are all considered equal. We want this date to let people continuously learn from the presence — and participation — of women in all sections of our society.
From the marketing point of view, IWD is always an excellent occasion for “engaged” people and brands to speak out, make a difference, and inspire generations to come. But it is unfortunate to see that it is also on this same day that brands, stores, coworkers, partners, schools — you name it — decide that the best they can do is to give us flowers. Or chocolates. Or cute cards with poems. Or make-up classes. Or 15% off on champagne and rosé wine.
It is 2021. And we still have to explain that we want more than that — or none of that, for that matter.
A day like any other for marketing opportunity
In Brazil, and probably in other parts of the world, IWD creates the opportunity for weird celebrations, especially from the marketing campaigns perspective. March 8th is that time of the year that you start seeing store fronts dressed up in pink, big discount signs for products like chocolates and champagne, and, of course, that old cliché that what women really expect on this day is to be “surprised” with red flowers at work and at home.
For many years it seems like we were glad to receive this so-called recognition or affection on international women’s day. In fact, being showered with things that you like shouldn’t necessarily be problematic, but considering the circumstances surrounding the state of women in this world, it is definitely a topic worth debating. The good news is that our understanding of what IWD — and being a woman — is all about has changed a lot in the last few years, but marketing strategies need to pick up the pace.
I have worked in retail for over four years, and another six in marketing agencies. And well, I have been a woman for 35 years. While working in content marketing for many companies and brands, the question of “what will we plan/create to celebrate women’s day” came across quite often. And I always caught myself repeating the same thing over and over again: that those campaigns may look like they are inoffensive, but the reality is that they are not helping at all.
Not surprisingly, my pledges were never heard, even when I stressed that I represented the exact persona they were trying to reach. I wasn’t able to beat the “selling necessity” of those big companies. So, I kept creating cute content for marketing campaigns that would give 10% off on flowers, chocolate, champagnes, make-up lessons, and other “girly” products or services. After all, we couldn’t miss the opportunity to have some profit when the search for this kind of “gift” was going to be in high demand, right? And also, IWD marketing campaigns in fact have another persona in mind: men. They are the ones who are going to spend their money to honor women on this day. Even if we all knew that this wasn’t the reason IWD was about.
Although I was loud and clear about my discontentment in creating those contents, which should feel like a big win considering the so-called “confidence gap” experienced by women in the workplace, I can honestly say that it kept feeling like a defeat. I guess the bottom line was quite simple. No matter its significance, women’s international day was just like any other day: a great opportunity to earn more money.
Workplace culture around IWD is not good either
Beyond the marketing sphere, women keep being “celebrated” in the wrong way almost everywhere. Sometimes those little “tributes” get a bit weird in our professional lives too, even in well-informed and enlightened work environments.
Let me tell you about the things we unwillingly expect to receive, hear and endure on IWD at work. First of all, the flowers. They always come. And there are the jokes, because they’re seemingly inevitable: “the other 364 days we can celebrate men’s day” or “this is the day that I get to hug other women that are not my wife”. (Newsflash: they are evitable, please stop).
That’s the day we also hear statements like how women are “warriors” or “the most delicate and loving creatures in the world”. Sometimes we get all three in one: the flower with a card with the tacky statement delivered by a male colleague that will make that evitable joke.
This is also the day (or the week) where most workplaces get everything wrong. Instead of putting women at the fore front of their professional advancement, they take supporting roles while their male counterparts shine on all-male panels about including more women in the labor market. They also love to invite all of us to work, so they can show off their female team while men rest at home.
Sounds bizarre, right? But these situations apparently happen with everyone, even with the most privileged women (like me). I am a white cisgender female born and raised in an upper middle-class family in Brazil. I had access to a good education, health care, and financial security. I’m surrounded by caring friends and a loving family. My support system is pretty great, I’m not going to lie.
But ignoring all this wouldn’t help change the status of many other women around the globe from a much less-privileged scenario. They have to deal with the consequences of a society that, in many places, still doesn’t see them as a part of the world we live in. And this is why getting uncomfortable and protesting, even about those little things, is always essential. We have to keep remembering what IWD is about, after all.
Make a change, but keep the conversation going
There is a lot of work to be done and talked about on the importance and meaning of the International Women’s Day. But what I want to highlight as a content professional is what can be done, in practice, to change the perception about IWD and influence how brands, companies, and marketing firms design their campaigns. I outlined some ideas of what food retails, stores, brands, and other B2C companies can create to celebrate IWD instead of offering the same old thing and reinforce gender stereotypes that by now should be long gone.
Here is what you can to do to make a real impact and correctly honor this important international date:
- Create quality content and activities related to Women’s Day to your team: Provide continuous education (not only on March 8th) about equality and respect in the workplace and at home.
- Foster the promotion of women to leads, coordinators, managers, directors, and C-level jobs. It is so inspiring to see companies worldwide committed to increasing the number of women integrating their teams, but it is frustrating to see that there isn’t a long-term plan to promote these women into leadership positions or continue growing their careers past the 5–10 year mark. We need more prompt actions that will make a difference in both the short and long terms.
- Invest in diversity. Open opportunities for women with diverse backgrounds, from different nationalities, income levels, ethnicities, races, religions. Bringing in human capital with different perspectives is the key to a successful business.
- Create meaningful marketing campaigns. Donate resources, time and expertise to local grassroots organizations, offer free webinars about equality and inclusivity in your field of practice, help out women’s advocacy groups in the community.
- No, do not ever put all your women staff to work on March 8th and leave men at home. That is not what we are talking about when we say we want equality.
- Can’t offer anything? That’s ok. Refrain from putting out marketing campaigns that are outdated and reinforce gender stereotypes on women’s international day (and any other day). It’s that simple. You can go back to advertising on March 9th.
- And one last thing, once and for all: stop giving out flowers (or any other “cute” gifts) to your female employees if you are not also offering something that will actually help them thrive in the workplace, like equal pay, adequate maternity leave, protection from sexual harassment, and an adequate and dignified career path.
Those are just some of the many ideas your marketing, branding, or any other internal team can work on to make International Women’s Day more relevant and impactful for our community.