International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March each year. For many Australians, it is a reminder to pause, recognise progress, and get practical about the work still to be done. At work, that means healthier cultures, more inclusive leadership, and systems that help everyone perform at their best. If you want your efforts to count beyond a single morning tea, this guide will help you translate good intentions into evidence based action.
In this article, we explain what International Women’s Day is, when it is observed, and why it matters for health, performance, and workplace culture. You will find practical steps you can take today, plus a clear plan for employers who want to turn awareness into measurable impact.
What is International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is a global day that celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women, while accelerating action toward gender equality. The day has roots in early twentieth century labour movements and has been observed for more than a century. Today, it is supported by the United Nations, which sets an annual theme to focus attention on priority actions. You can learn more from the United Nations overview of International Women’s Day on the UN Women website, which explains the history and current priorities for the day and the broader gender equality agenda here.
When is International Women’s Day Celebrated?
International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year. Many organisations run events during the week of the 8th of March to maximise participation. If you are planning a workplace initiative, lock in the date early, align with the UN theme, and ensure the experience is accessible for remote and hybrid teams.
Why it Matters
Celebrating International Women’s Day on the 8th of March is more than symbolic. It is a lever to improve health, performance, and culture in ways that benefit everyone.
- Performance and productivity: Diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions and execute faster, which improves business results. Major reviews by global institutions consistently link diversity and inclusion with stronger organisational performance.
- Health and wellbeing: Gender gaps in pay, care loads, and leadership opportunity contribute to stress, sleep disruption, and burnout. The World Health Organisation highlights disproportionate risks for women in certain sectors and the need for gender responsive health strategies in workplaces. See a WHO summary of gender and health at work here.
- Equity in Australia: The Workplace Gender Equality Agency reports a persistent national gender pay gap and uneven representation at senior levels, which directly affects financial security, mental health, and capacity to engage in healthy routines. Explore current WGEA data and guidance for employers here.
From a behavioural science perspective, awareness days are powerful commitment moments. They create a natural prompt to set goals, make public pledges, and tweak systems. When followed by simple, repeatable actions, they help people stick with healthier and more equitable habits.
For more on practical ways workplaces can champion women’s wellbeing across the year, you may find our guide on Supporting Women’s Wellbeing In The Workplace useful.
How to Turn International Women’s Day into Lasting Impact
1. Start With The Date And A Clear Purpose
Confirm that International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March and set a simple purpose statement for your activity, such as celebrate achievements, listen to lived experience, commit to one policy or practice improvement. A clear purpose keeps planning focused and avoids tokenism.
Tip: Share the purpose with speakers and attendees in advance so discussion stays practical and constructive.
2. Listen First Then Plan Actions
Invite input from women across roles and life stages. Focus on barriers that affect daily performance, such as meeting times that clash with care duties, lack of private spaces, or inflexible work patterns. Listening builds trust and points to high impact changes.
Tip: Use a short anonymous pulse survey the week before 8 March and share top themes on the day.
3. Align With Health And Performance
Connect gender inclusion with wellbeing outcomes like energy, focus, and recovery. When work design supports flexibility and fairness, people sleep better, move more, and think more clearly. That means fewer sick days and better performance.
Tip: Pair your event with a micro learning on stress management or recovery so people leave with skills they can use. Our article on Leveraging Stress To Your Advantage outlines simple techniques that help under pressure.
4. Make One Policy Easier To Use
Choose one area that matters and remove friction. Examples include meeting free core hours, simple flexible work requests, or streamlined carer’s leave approvals. Behavioural research shows that reducing steps and clarifying options boosts uptake.
Tip: Publish a one page how to for the chosen policy on your intranet and promote it on the 8th of March.
5. Improve Psychological Safety
Teams do better when people feel safe to speak up. Use International Women’s Day to reset norms around voice and respect, which protects mental health and lifts collaboration.
Tip: Ask leaders to open meetings with a check in and to invite quiet voices first. For deeper guidance, see our article on Building Psychological Safety Through Leadership.
6. Invest In Leadership Capability
Leaders shape culture through everyday behaviours. Train managers to have supportive conversations about workload, flexibility, and career paths. Evidence shows that compassionate leadership buffers stress and reduces burnout risk.
Tip: Book a short manager session during the week of the 8th of March on practical inclusion habits. Our piece on Leadership’s Role In Employee Wellbeing Programs offers a simple starting point.
7. Design Events People Can Actually Attend
Hold two shorter sessions at different times, offer a live stream, and record for later. Provide transcripts and slides. Accessibility shows respect and increases impact.
Tip: Replace a standard sit down with a walking meeting that finishes at your event space to weave movement into the day.
8. Spotlight Practical Stories
Invite speakers who share concrete examples of progress, not just inspiration. What worked, what failed, and what they would repeat. Stories drive behaviour far better than abstract messages.
Tip: Ask presenters to end with one action attendees can try this week.
9. Measure What Matters
Collect simple metrics pre and post. Attendance, engagement, intent to act, and one system change adopted. Share results and next steps so momentum continues after 8 March.
Tip: Add a one question follow up at two weeks that asks what helped and what got in the way.
10. Extend Beyond One Day
Use International Women’s Day as a launch pad for a quarter of small improvements. Stacking small wins builds confidence and keeps energy high.
Tip: Publish a quarter roadmap with three focus areas and report back monthly.
What Can Employers do?
- Set a clear intention: Define how celebrating International Women’s Day on 8 March will improve health, performance, and equity in your business.
- Back it with resources: Allocate budget for expert facilitation, accessibility, and manager training.
- Make policies usable: Simplify flexible work, carer support, and safe workspace provisions, and promote them on the day.
- Train leaders consistently: Build skills in compassionate leadership, active listening, and workload design across all people leaders.
- Measure outcomes: Track participation, policy uptake, retention, and wellbeing indicators to understand ROI.
- Partner with specialists: Engage a provider that integrates wellbeing, performance, and behaviour change so efforts stick.
Key Takeaways
- International Women’s Day is celebrated on the 8th of March every year and is a high leverage moment to align values with action.
- Gender inclusion improves health, focus, and performance, which benefits people and results.
- Listening to lived experience reveals practical barriers you can remove quickly.
- Small system tweaks beat one off events. Simplify policies, train leaders, and measure progress.
- Plan for momentum after 8 March with a clear roadmap and regular check ins.
If you want expert support to design an evidence based strategy that acknowledges women’s wellbeing year round, get in touch with Better Being.
