The Gender Multiplier Effect of International Women's Day and Women's History Month

How do we build the momentum of the ripple effect beyond one day and one month annually to year-round awareness? And why it's crucial that we do.

By Andrea Stevenson Conner

Now that Women's History Month and International Women's Day 2022 have come and gone, it bears reflection on how both have grown in recognition in the United States and some of the ways organizations honor women.?

?But first, a little?background ?on International Women's Day, also known as IWD. It grew from a labor movement in 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York demanding shorter working hours, better pay, and the right to vote. But it was German activist and advocate for women's rights, Clara Zetkin, who proposed the idea of an international day to recognize women at an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910. The 100 women in attendance from 17 countries agreed to it unanimously. IWD was first celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland and officially adopted by the United Nations in 1975. This adoption was a critical juncture and also a gender multiplier effect.

?And this effect was broadened in the United States when President Barack Obama proclaimed March 15, 2015, Women's History Month.

The gender multiplier effect (GME) is the concept that investing in women and girls creates a ripple effect that positively impacts their families, communities, and society. In this instance, an idea proposed in 1910 has spread and can continue to globally.

UN Women Advances the Gender Multiplier Effect

I first became aware of?UN Women , which supports women in UN member states, and its work in 2007. The UN knew it was not going to be able to change the trajectory of all of the challenges the world faces, such as climate change, poverty, and HIV AIDS, without impacting the poverty level of women and girls.

In 2010, the UN created UN Women to focus on women in each category and develop programs, policies, and standards that uphold women's human rights and ensure that every woman and girl lives up to her full potential. The UN also realized that to impact all the issues it wanted to address and change, it required a comprehensive ecosystem to empower women and girls. This is?Sustainable Development Goal Number Five. ?It aims to achieve gender equality worldwide and is at the heart of the GME.

It is an ambitious goal, and it clearly illustrates the notion that solving each one of these more significant global issues begins with improving the lives of women and girls economically, socially, and environmentally:

"Gender equality is not only a basic human right, but its achievement has enormous socio-economic ramifications. Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth. Yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society. Women lack access to decent work and face occupational segregation and gender wage gaps. They are too often denied access to basic education and health care. Women in all parts of the world suffer violence and discrimination. They are under-represented in political and economic decision-making processes."

~ UN Women

?A few examples from UN Women of how the UN adopting International Women's Day helps women and their communities today and in the future:

-??When more women work, economies grow.?For example, increasing the female employment rates in OECD countries to match Sweden's could boost GDP by over USD 6 trillion,3 ?recognizing, however, that growth does not automatically lead to a reduction in gender-based inequality. Conversely, it is estimated that gender gaps cost the economy some 15 percent of GDP.4

-??Increasing women's and girls' educational attainment contributes to women's economic empowerment and more inclusive economic growth.?Increased educational attainment accounts for about 50 percent of the economic growth in OECD countries over the past 50 years.5 ?

?-?Women's economic equality is good for business.?It is estimated that companies with three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions of organizational performance.7

"Break the Bias" Advances Gender Multiplier Effect

I advocate for women's leadership, gender equity, and diversity and inclusion. And I've had the opportunity, living in China and Germany, to witness the GME in action. I also experience this daily as VP/Program Strategy at Springboard Enterprises, a leading network of influencers, investors, and innovators dedicated to building high-growth companies led by women who are transforming industries.

On IWD, Springboard partnered with the London Stock Exchange to host?World Funding Women , a series of virtual events to elevate, promote, and celebrate women entrepreneurs worldwide. This included three virtual global events, including separate sessions, starting in the Asia Pacific, going to the Middle East, Europe, and Africa, and then the Americas, featuring nine women innovators during one 24-hour period.

Because this year's theme for IWD was Break the Bias, the mutual goal for Springboard and the London Stock Exchange was to highlight female empowerment and entrepreneurship while addressing the bias that still exists in the access female entrepreneurs have to capital and economic empowerment.

Additionally, Springboard featured three female entrepreneurs in its dolphin tank series, where they received recommendations and feedback to help catapult them to the next level.

And many other organizations around the globe that support women and women entrepreneurs also participated—too many to list here. It's exciting to see more and more galvanizing. I was also proud to be involved with the?Women in Tech's ?(WIT) 4th Annual International Women's Day Conference and the?Vive Conference , where I hosted a breakfast highlighting the future of healthcare from the lens of female founders and their allies.

Creating an annual theme for IWD is essential; it allows us to strategically focus each year on a different aspect of empowering women and girls, thereby making it a more manageable goal.

The energy, passion, and commitment around IWD each year are palpable. But how can we keep the momentum of a day or a month going all year long? What action can you take today that will boost the gender multiplier effect?

VP of Program Strategy for Springboard Enterprises, McLean, Virginia,?Andrea Stevenson Conner also is president of Stevenson Conner Global Strategies and a fierce advocate for the gender multiplier effect. Reach her at?[email protected] .