International Women's Day at Catalyst

As an organization dedicated to creating workplaces that work for women and everyone, Catalyst recognizes the contributions of women every day -- and we celebrate International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8 and Women's History Month throughout March. Women’s History Month is important as an opportunity to focus on the economic, social, cultural, and political achievements of women. As we honor women's achievements, we also recognize persistent gender disparities and renew our commitment to workplace inclusion.

Workplaces that value women and all aspects of diversity foster a culture of respect, belonging, and inclusion that increases collaboration, strengthens teams, and positively affects employee retention, innovation, and business revenue.

This year, Catalyst organized a series of events, activities, and resources that resonated with our global Supporters. Our webinar, trivia challenge, and more empowered organizations and individuals to drive meaningful change by engaging, inspiring, and celebrating women. 

Webinar: How workplaces can accelerate action

The 2025 International Women’s Day theme was “Accelerate action,” which couldn’t have been more aligned with Catalyst’s mission. More than 400 Supporters joined the webinar “International Women's Day: How workplaces can accelerate action” where they learned from workplace inclusion experts about how organizations are using the finesse approach to ensure progress continues even in uncertain times. Judging from the high engagement -- 61% of attendees participated in the chat – and post-event feedback, this was an inspiring event that provided actionable insights attendees could bring back to their organizations. Learn five key takeaways from this conversation about how to supercharge progress on IWD and beyond.

Her-Story Trivia Challenge

Women have been change-makers across every field—science, politics, culture, technology, and more. Catalyst created engaging region-specific trivia games that teams across the world played to learn about and celebrate women’s achievements. Available in two languages and downloaded more than 700 times, the game had four regional versions for the US, Canada, and the UK as well as a Global edition. Each version featured 10 questions like “How many countries had a woman head of state as of October 2024?” “Who is the best-selling novelist of all time?” and “Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?” People who played tested their knowledge, bonded as a team, and came away with new information and renewed pride in women’s achievements. 

Spotify playlist

For the third year, Catalyst curated a Women’s History Month Spotify playlist to shine a light on talented women musical artists across genres and time periods. The 50 songs range from Edith Piaf’s 1947 French torch song “La Vie en Rose” to Sabrina Carpenter’s catchy 2024 pop hit “Espresso.” These songs also empower and energize listeners with messages of strength and value like “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys and Aretha Franklin’s anthem “Respect.”

Women’s History Month book recommendations

Leora Tanenbaum, Senior Director, Editorial at Catalyst – who is an avid reader and a five-time author herself -- shared some of her book picks for Women’s History Month on Instagram. Whether for a company book club or personal reading, Tanenbaum chose these five: “We Should All be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “Taking Flight: from War Orphan to Star” by Elaine DePrince, “Feminism is for Everybody” by bell hooks, “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly, and “Invisible Women” by Caroline Criado-Perez.

LinkedIn campaign

Catalyst’s Women’s History Month social media campaign celebrated women leaders and pioneers, examined the she-conomy (women’s increasing role in the economy), and shared Catalyst resources to equip people working to foster inclusive workplaces with information and tools for success. This effective campaign reached more than 9,000 people on LinkedIn, with 255 reactions and 838 clicks.

Artist collaboration

The original graphics in many of our IWD and Women’s History Month resources are part of a collaboration with acclaimed illustrator Stephanie Ginger. She creates her colorful, inclusive artwork -- which has been seen in publications including the Wall Street Journal -- through a digital and hand drawn process.

Despite progress, challenges remain for women in the workplace. For example, the labor participation gap between men and women persists globally and the wage gap has been relatively stagnant for the past 20 years. 

During our celebrations of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, Catalyst highlighted the achievements of women, inspired teams, and equipped organizations to foster workplace inclusion. We honored the past, and together with our Supporters, took decisive steps toward a more gender inclusive future.

Catalyst is proud to be recognized as an International Women's Day "charity partner of choice," reflecting our outstanding decades-long commitment to accelerating action for women in the workplace. Consider a donation.