Today (March 8th) is International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women and also serves as a call-to-action for accelerating gender equality.
Earlier this week, I had the privilege of opening an event that our team held in celebration of IWD. It included powerful insights from a leadership panel moderated by Mary Beth Westmoreland and included Natalie Angelillo, Sunny Jain, and Priya Padmanabhan. They were followed by some inspiring thoughts from Jackie Beckman, the president of the Women at SPS Employee-Led Group, and an opportunity for colleagues to mix & mingle.
These events always remind me of both the progress we are making towards women's equality but also how much more there still is to do. Mary Beth reminded us that according to the World Economic Forum, it will take until 2158 for women to achieve equality - which simply does not seem acceptable. It also makes it fitting that the theme for IWD this year is "Accelerate Action".
I consider myself fortunate to work at a company that has strong values and believes that creating an inclusive and equitable environment is crucial for building the best products, services, and experiences to delight our large and diverse customer base. I also think it's so important that each of us takes an active role in this, and I shared at the event that I always use these moments to decide on an action I am going to take - whether it's something I'm going to start doing, stop doing, change in how I approach, or otherwise. I think that we all have to take action.
I hope you all also take this moment to advocate and stand up for the right things whether within your team, community, or elsewhere. I think that is how we will “Accelerate Action” and create a more equitable world.
#IWD2025 #AccelerateAction #WomenAtSPS
