Messages From 55 Inspiring Women Around The World Celebrating IWD

To mark International Women’s Day, we asked inspiring women from around the globe to share their personal messages and thoughts about what this special day means to them.

Here is what 55 fabulous women had to share with our Women Love Tech community. Thank you to StudioBucket for helping Women Love Tech put together this video and all the amazing women who took part. 

International Women’s Day is a day first to join voices with women around the world and share our message for equal rights. Women’s rights are human rights and we proudly celebrate all women in all their diversities. 

Michelle Broadbent, Productivity Coach

“Wishing you a very happy IWD, especially the women in small business community.”

Cass Spies, CEO, Twisted Healthy Treats

“I’m Cass Spies and I’m here today with my all female management team and we wish you a happy International Women’s Day. I choose to challenge women to claim their place as bold, confident leaders in the work place.”

Women from 86 400

“We’d like to give a shout out to all the women who are resilient….”

Dr Justine O’Brien, Head of Conservation, Taronga Conservation Society

“IWD is incredibly important day to celebrate our scientists.”  

Mikaela Lancaster MD Spotify A/NZ

“I’m Mikaela MD of Spotify, Australia and NZ. I’m joined here today by just some of our women leaders. Our message to you is may you pursue your dreams, chose to challenge and be the best version of yourself possible. Happy IWD from Spotify Australia.”

Jules Brook, She’s The Boss CEO

“I truly believe women all over the world are part of a movement and we’re going to affect change.”

Andrea Dixon, DocuSign, Marketing Director

“It’s an opportunity to consider how we can make our world more equal than it is today. Equal pay. Equal opportunity. Equal everything.”

Melanie Schmidtke, Cancer Council SA

“The theme for this year is achieving an equal future in a covid 19 world. Women all across the world are at the forefront of leading the way for a response to Covid.”

Kris Grant, MD, ASPL Group

“It’s all about choosing to challenge, that is calling out unconscious bias and gender inequality, so take the time and reflect about how you can make a difference whether it is in individuality or in your community.”

Rhonda Swan, Unstoppable Branding Agency CEO

“I like to remember the historical privilege of the women’s movement that is now continuing on to this day, honoring the scope, the breadth viewed through an intersectional lens. Black, trans, disabled, poor, Lantina and indigenous women all need to be heard, respected and welcomed, for any movement to function or even exist today.”

Carrie Bloomfield, head of clinical research at GSK, Australia & NZ

“IWD for me is a day we recognise the equal value that women bring to the world, obviously to communities, to their families and to the workplace. But it’s also a day we need to remind ourselves that there isn’t equality for women around the world and in some cases there is repression. So if there is ever a day that we choose the challenge of inequality for women that still remains, it has to be IWD.”

Vanita Smith – Ayubowan Health and Lifestyle CEO

“It’s taking the time to pause, reflect and express my gratitude.”

Emma Rouse, Development Officer, Sydney University

“It’s a celebration of choice and a reminder that women have the power to dream big and achieve great things”.

Vicki Miller, Executive General Manger Shake It Up Foundation

“It’s great to see so many women working in STEM and being recognised for their contribution to science.”

Dr Michelle Perugini, co-founder and  CEO Presagen

Karen Rosenkowitz_LenovoDataCenterGroup

“We need to remember to support women.”

Pamela Connellan, Journalist, Women Love Tech

“Yes, there is still a long way to go but women are forging ahead in so many areas including high tech.”

Meg Donnell, ChildhoodDementia.org

“The compassion and the strength of women is a powerful thing and it is what we should celebrate today and every day.”

Maria Hedengren, Readly CEO

“On a day like this, I think about my mother.”

Helen Masters, Senior Vice President International at Ivanti

“I know I was influenced by my mother.”

Rachel Ler, Vice President and General Manager, Asia Pacific and Japan, Commvault

Chelsea Rossney, Commercial Channel Director for HP Australia.

“It’s a celebration of the tides turning.”

Tory Archbold, Powerful Steps CEO

“For me it’s a celebration of the power of connection and the power of women connecting with women….stepping up and switching on their a game.”

Gergana Winzer, Industry Director Cyber Security for APAC

Carrie Kwan, Co-founder Mums & Co

“We can all choose to challenge. A shift next to take place in the language that we use around ambitious working mums. You know the saying you can’ t be what you can’t see, well we all need to lead by example and chip away at unconscious bias starting with how we talk to ourselves and talk to each other.”

Pasangi Wickramarachchi, Customer Success, Enterprise for APJ at Rackspace Technology

“For me it’s a day to recognise the women who came before me…paved the way for my dreams and ambitions.”

Emily Chen

“Making systematic change can be challenging….but needs to be more of a priority.”

Rachel Debeck, COO, Mable.

Josephine Lanzarone, Director of Marketing, Asia Pacific at Pluralsight

For me there are many biases that women face…”

Maree Beare, CEO & Founder Wanngi Health Management

“Happy IWD The most important thing is that us women need to support each other in an unbalanced work place.”

Amy Foo, MD Zendesk

“Like many women, the pandemic has made me feel really small and helpless in our progress to equity, but all the more, we need to band together to use our collective abilities and resources to help others if we want to see meaningful change. ”

Dr Denis Bauer, CSIRO

“Working in an industry where women are under represented, I want to be a role model and encourage more women to seek a career in science and technology. Being an AWS hero, really helps with that. It makes me more visible and I strongly believe, if you can see it, you can be it.”

Gabrielle Dracopoulos, Head of Customer Success & Experience at Intuit

“It’s the small things we do as a collective that are going to make the biggest change.”

Andrea Dixon, DocuSign, Marketing Director

“As a mother of two daughters, I want women to believe they can achieve anything despite the stereotypes in story books today.”

Gabrielle Dracopoulos, Head of Customer Success & Experience at Intuit

“Ask, what do you do to choose to challenge?”

Nicola Kelly, Happy-Ali.com Writer

“I’m delighted to mark this day with women from across the globe” 

Tracey Van Weelde, Investor & Philanthropist

Happy IWD

Ines Besbes , Women Love Tech

“I love IWD.”

Emille Mendoza, CEO & Founder at Boracay Skin

“Happy IWD.”

Anne Miles, Suits & Sneakers MD

“Finally, it’s our turn to get heard and treated like equals. So happy day.”

Mina Radhakrishnan

“We still have a long way to go but I’m excited about the next generation of women.”

Preeti Bajaj, CEO, The Adecco Group A/NZ, Modis Australia

“The call to arms is lean in, take those commercial roles, take that chance….your future depends on it.”

Rhonda Swan, The Unstoppable Agency MD

“IWD is a multiplicity. It’s the power of differences in every woman’s story.”

Jessica Williamson, Business Coach

“Keep living your dreams.”

Vicki Miller, Executive General Manger Shake It Up Foundation

“In the words of Michelle Obama, there is no limit to what we as women can accomplish.”

Amanda Rose, CEO Western Sydney Women

“How can we change behaviour in the work place, we just don’t like?”

Jessica Williamson, Business Coach

Maria Hedengren, Readly CEO

“So I hope you have a great IWD and remember you got this.”

Anna Pomroy, Senior Manager, Technical Account Management, Paypal

Lyra Mackay, Zoho

 

Happy International Women’s Day and let’s make the focus on women an every day event.