International Women’s Day 2025
As International Women’s Day draws closer, we are reminded of it through the increasing flurry of PR posts and marketing campaigns that dominate our media outreach, each carrying its own vested promotional interest.
In acknowledgement of the origin of this international event, I am sharing both some of my reflections and those of my colleagues that I feel are sometimes lost amidst the superficial gestures & messages that will be shared voluminously tomorrow. It is not lost on me that I am a day early in expressing this – in fact, this is a rather purposeful, early rumination, which I hope will serve as a reminder NOT to undervalue the poignancy of the day, nor bury its purpose in easy and all-too-convenient ‘shout-outs’ about the women in our lives.
As many also feel, I am uneasy about the power that this ‘celebration’ could unintentionally wield at such a critical stage of sluggish social advancement towards an egalitarian society. International Women’s Day was hard fought for by early pioneers advocating for the rights of women to vote, receive more equitable pay, and have increased choice over working hours. That fight continues today.
In the annual ‘Women in The Workplace Report’ published by McKinsey in 2024, there is discomforting recognition that women remain underrepresented in every stage of the corporate talent pipeline. Although there is evidence that progress is being made, there is equal acknowledgement that ‘change is hard and messy’ and ‘the gains are more fragile and less extensive than they appear’. The conclusion that there is still an embarrassing underrepresentation of women across all professional corporate roles, coupled with an urgent invitation to ‘stay ambitious and committed to the important work being done to address this’, is testimony to the prevailing exploitation of women all year round.
Yesterday at TimmerHaus, we pressed pause to meet and discuss this topic. During our time together, we reflected on the pioneering work of Clara Zetkin and those who preceded her in the protests during the labour movement at the turn of the 20th century. We all agreed that we owe them more than a cursory nod, a shower of arbitrary marketing efforts, and an exclamation of “well done!” (accompanied by cupcakes).
My question is this: If we celebrate women so publicly on one day of the year, what are we doing on the other 364 days?
As McKinsey so perfectly summarises, ‘progress is not parity’ – so as we rightly celebrate the small wins, let’s not forget what we could yet achieve if the intended theme of International Women’s Day is to be honoured truly. Let’s not forget what we should have been doing yesterday, and what we yet need to commit to for tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, so that our International Women’s Day celebrations in the future can relish the attainment of real, actual, genuine gender parity.
From my side, I am proud to be outnumbered by the women I work with at TimmerHaus, and together we will continue to support the ideals visualised by Clara Zetkin, all year round.
This article was written by Marc Timmerman & Anna Nardini (not AI generated)