Generosity and collaboration
Today, 8th March, is International Women’s Day.
Did you know that International Women’s Day has two themes each year? Somehow, two movements emerged and each has a different theme.
In 2026, the UN is highlighting ‘Rights. Justice. Action’, while IWD has gone for ‘#GiveToGain’. Confusing? Slightly. But when it comes to equality, the more the merrier, quite frankly.
The UN calls upon us to learn, speak out and donate in order to create a meaningful justice system worldwide, when currently women and girls have just 64 per cent of the legal rights of men.
International Women’s Day, meanwhile, is celebrating 115 years of “collective action, advocacy, and progress toward gender equality.” It started in the same year that Marie Curie won her second Nobel Prize in Chemistry (science shoutout!).
The IWD 2026 Give To Gain theme encourages a mindset of generosity and collaboration:
“Giving is not a subtraction, it's intentional multiplication. When women thrive, we all rise.” - IWD
It can be hard to know where to start in addressing inequality, especially if you don’t even realise an inequality exists: nobody can know everything, and sometimes it takes some generosity and collaboration on both sides to explore this. An open mind and curiosity are vital tools in this journey.
Handily, the International Women’s Day sites have abundant resources to gain new knowledge. This year, IWD has also joined forces with global leadership community Lean In to offer two free practical toolkits for businesses: a Circles workshop to nurture women’s leadership and 50 Ways to Fight Bias workshop that, they say, “takes the guesswork out of identifying and challenging workplace bias.” Check them out here to take your next steps to create a more equal workplace.
A key way to build equality is to embed it within your decision-making: find out what challenges others are facing, and try to consider it when you next need to take action. Whether it’s the timing of a meeting or the way you speak to someone else, each little step can have an impact.
And if you need some help in making an impact, why not contact Lucis Strata for some generous and collaborative support?
