International Women’s Day activities can be so much more than cupcakes and purple balloons. When you design your day with intent you can spark real conversations, shift behaviours, and build a more inclusive culture that supports performance and wellbeing. Whether you are a wellbeing champion, a team leader, or a time poor professional keen to contribute, the right activities can create momentum that lasts beyond March.
If your organisation is juggling heavy workloads and limited budgets, you can still create impact with small, well planned actions. From inclusive events and education to policy nudges and leadership accountability, there are practical ways to celebrate progress and close the gaps that remain.
In this article, we unpack what International Women’s Day is, why it matters for health and performance, and share step by step International Women’s Day activities to inspire change that you can run across any workplace in Australia.
What is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is a global day that recognises the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, while calling for acceleration of gender equality. It is a moment to celebrate and to act. For background on the movement and annual themes, see
UN Women.
Why it Matters
Gender equality is linked with healthier teams and stronger performance. Diverse and inclusive workplaces are associated with higher engagement, better decision quality, and improved retention. Large scale reviews show organisations with more inclusive cultures outperform peers across innovation and profitability. For current data on women in leadership and career progression, explore
McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace.
In Australia, the Workplace Gender Equality Agency reports a persistent national gender pay gap that influences financial security, stress, health choices, and long term wellbeing. You can view the latest figures at the
WGEA gender pay gap portal. Bringing this lens into your International Women’s Day activities ensures the day contributes to real change, not just a one off celebration.
From a wellbeing perspective, psychological safety and fair access to opportunity are foundations for focus, recovery, and resilience. If people can speak up, access flexible work, and see pathways to progression, they are more likely to bring energy to their roles. For practical frameworks leaders can apply year round, see our guides on
building psychological safety and
supporting women’s wellbeing in the workplace.
International Women’s Day Activities to Inspire Change
Use this action plan to design International Women’s Day activities that educate, include, and drive follow through.
Set a Clear Intention And Outcome
Decide what success looks like. Do you want to increase awareness of barriers, improve psychological safety, spark mentoring, or commit to policy change. A simple one sentence goal will guide your agenda and communications.
Tip: Share the intention in your invitations and at the start of every event so participants know why they are there and what action you hope to see.
Run a Story Led Panel With Clear Actions
Host a panel that blends lived experience and evidence. Invite women from different levels and functions, plus an ally. Keep it practical. Ask for one action each person wishes leaders and colleagues would take.
Tip: Close with a two minute reflection where attendees note one commitment and one request of leadership. Collect responses to inform your follow up plan.
Offer a Skills Based Workshop
Move from awareness to ability. Consider
workshops on confident conversations, active allyship, or energy management for high performance. Skills practice turns good intent into daily habits.
Create Mentoring And Sponsorship Pathways
Pair senior leaders with emerging women talent and set a simple structure. Mentoring builds confidence and networks. Sponsorship goes further by advocating for opportunities. Track pairings and outcomes over time.
Tip: Start small with a three month pilot and a midpoint check in. Recognise sponsors who actively open doors.
Launch a Psychological Safety Pledge
Ask teams to adopt simple agreements that encourage respectful challenge, inclusive meetings, and fair credit. Use visual prompts in meeting rooms and on your intranet. For a step by step playbook, share our guide on
what psychological safety is.
Make Flexible Work And Care Visible
Encourage leaders of all genders to model school drop off days, caring leave, and focus time. Normalising flexibility reduces stigma and supports retention.
Tip: Share a monthly post that highlights different flexible arrangements and the results achieved.
Audit Meetings For Inclusion
During the week of International Women’s Day, ask teams to try inclusive meeting protocols. Rotate facilitators, invite quieter voices first, and capture decisions with clear owners. Small changes can lift contribution and reduce meeting fatigue.
Host Community Impact Activities
Partner with a local charity or community group that supports women and girls. Options include volunteering days, donation drives, or skills sharing. Community engagement strengthens meaning and culture. For more ideas, see our guide on the
role of community engagement in wellbeing.
Run a Health And Energy Focused Activation
Support physical and mental energy with movement breaks, desk exercise sessions, or a lunchtime walk. These are inclusive and boost mood and clarity. Share our
desk exercises and
exercise to combat stress articles as takeaways.
Create a Resource Hub
Centralise links to policies, employee networks, training, and support services. Include material on respectful behaviours, parental leave, domestic and family violence support, and mental health. Keep it easy to find and regularly updated.
Close With Measurable Commitments
End your International Women’s Day activities with three organisation level commitments and a date to report progress. Examples include leadership targets, flexible work uptake, and pay equity analysis with timelines. Transparency builds trust.
What Can Employers do?
- Connect your day to strategy: State how International Women’s Day activities support culture, performance, and risk reduction.
- Make leadership visible: Ask executives to host sessions, share personal stories, and model flexible work.
- Fund skills not just events: Allocate budget to training that builds habits and capability.
- Measure what matters: Track participation, sentiment, and follow through on commitments. Share results quarterly.
- Back your champions: Give wellbeing ambassadors time, tools, and recognition to run initiatives. See why wellbeing ambassadors accelerate change.
- Strengthen manager skills: Provide coaching in psychological safety and compassionate leadership. Explore our guides on compassionate leadership and building psychological safety.
- Commit to equity actions: Conduct a pay equity review, publish goals, and report progress using WGEA guidance.
Key Takeaways
- International Women’s Day activities work best when they combine celebration with measurable commitments that continue beyond the day.
- Link your plan to wellbeing and performance through psychological safety, flexibility, and access to development.
- Blend awareness and skill building so people leave with actions they can use immediately.
- Leaders set the tone by modelling behaviours and backing structural changes such as pay equity and flexible work.
- Small, consistent steps sustained over time beat big one off events for culture change and business outcomes.
If you want support designing International Women’s Day activities that inspire change and build momentum all year,
get in touch with Better Being.
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