Should we even celebrate International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day 2025 is themed ‘Accelerating Action.’ I’ll admit, I have mixed feelings about awareness days—there’s a day for everything. There’s even a whole week to celebrate pies. Because for me, inclusion isn’t about a single day. It’s about being intentional, every day. Awareness matters. Conversations matter. But progress? That happens when we move beyond words and into action.
So why even write words for IWD? Because like many of us, I wear many hats. Privileged roles with responsibility to shape perspectives, set examples, drive meaningful change. I’m woman, wife, teenage boy’s mother, golden retriever’s servant, executive coach, squiggly-career generalist. A leader. Sometimes I’m called a ‘female leader’. I’ve spent my career in people-centric industries. And from my first job on the retail shopfloor at 15, all the way to stepping into this incredible role in hospitality a year ago, one frustrating pattern remains clear: the higher up you look, the fewer women you see.
Even as a hospitality newbie, I already deeply feel our immense role in providing opportunities. So many take their first steps into work from here—learning teamwork, resilience, and the power of human connection. As leaders, we have a responsibility to open doors and create pathways where individual talent—not gender, race, or background—determines success. The way we lead today shapes the future of those just starting out. If we don’t prioritise inclusion, we limit not only them but the entire industry and the communities we serve.
Diversity in hospitality isn’t about fairness—it’s about business. Women are more than half the workforce, yet decision-making power remains disproportionately male. Greater representation brings diverse perspectives, innovative problem-solving, and a stronger connection to the guests we serve. When leadership teams reflect the world around them, businesses thrive. This isn’t a women vs. men conversation, inclusion isn’t about exclusion and true progress isn’t in percentage metrics. It’s about creating space for different voices to co-create solutions that elevate everyone.
Early in my career, I was told I was ‘too nice’ to lead or be promoted. Collaboration and empathy were seen as a weakness against a stereotypically masculine backdrop. Success required ego, dominance, hardness. They were wrong. But it knocked my confidence. It took years - and the support and demonstration of incredible leaders along the way, including my current one, to realise that being excessively human is what's needed in an ever-changing world. Sadly, being told what women can or can’t achieve is not a story unique to me. Yet we’re in the people business. ‘Feminine’ skills don’t just belong at the table—they build the table big enough for everyone to contribute and challenge the status quo. Where leadership isn’t prefixed with ‘female.’ Where success isn’t about fitting into a system built without us, but about reshaping that system entirely.
Diversity is just a first step. The real work is creating space for inclusion and inspiring people to trust in themselves. Particularly as women we’re too often told to look outward to succeed. To seek more advice. To be more like someone. Adjust how we show up.
How often we hear:
💜 Get a mentor, rather than trust our own instincts?
💜 Seek out sponsorship, rather than know our worth?
💜 Be more confident, rather than expect to be heard?
There’s nothing wrong with guidance and support. But let’s be clear: the real action isn’t just helping women navigate barriers—it’s removing them altogether. And let’s be honest: accelerating action isn’t easy. It means confronting resistance. Disrupting systems that favour one way of thinking. It’s hard to feel you’re invited into rooms just because you’re a woman. Not called a leader, but a female leader. True inclusion isn’t about spotlighting women—it’s about normalising our presence at every level and creating space for real contribution. Different voices don’t change decisions unless they are heard and valued.
So, this IWD, we could challenge:
💜 Are we just talking inclusion, or are we making decisions that drive it?
💜 Are we mentoring to empower, or are we just implying that women need fixing?
💜 Are we challenging outdated structures, or simply working around them?
Progress isn’t made through purple heart emojis or reading an article. It’s made through action. Amplify a voice in a meeting, challenge an all-male invite list, advocate for fairer hiring. Because the hardest part of change isn’t moving too fast—it’s standing still.
Perhaps the true success of IWD will be marked by the moment it no longer needs to exist. History shows us the most powerful movements don’t aim to be permanent; they strive to make themselves obsolete. The same could be true here. The goal is not endless awareness. Until then, mark the day not as a celebration, but as serving a reminder of the work still to be done.
