This 8 March — in women's own words

Blessed by a global network of changemakers, I have been asking the astounding women I know a single question in the lead-up to this day. Want to know what they said?

Earlier this week, I asked women around the world — in New Zealand, Australia, China, India, Nepal, Russia, South Africa, Nigeria, UK, Germany, Canada, Mexico, and the US — my broadest question yet, What do women changemakers need to say or to hear?

I was, again, blown away by the responses. Which I’d like to share with you! Especially at a time when for every person celebrating the International Women’s Day there’s a person wondering why such a celebration should still exist.

Before I do… (and feel free to scroll straight to the quotes):

The range or responses is telling

Possibly due to the framing, the answers reflected the broader narratives as well as what the respondents themselves are facing. They span from invitations to look inward to broadscale policy change. From calls for meaningful connections to war cries.

The range of responses felt unusual to me, and I wonder if it speaks to the reality that we’re all scrambling to show up as the leaders and changemakers the world needs when it is, frankly, throwing a tantrum.

Image credit: Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay.

This year’s International Women’s Day is a more confusing one than ever, in that it is more needed but ironically likely to be less spoken of. I will be pegging my hopes on the future watching the next range of leaders shine.

An anonymous CEO of a preeminent non-profit. Australia.

Why are we still talking about women’s issues?

What stood out is how many women are grappling with the very fact that we are still talking about “women’s issues.”

I strongly identify with this particular dilemma. In most ways, the Soviet Union of the 1980s had more gender parity than the Western World of the 2020s. I never knew of stay-at-home moms until I came to the US. I’ve often commented that where it came to my identity, I have been MANY things — a friend, a citizen, an activist, an entrepreneur, a scientist, an investor, a parent, a spouse, a transformation expert, a speaker, an author, a consultant — before “a woman.” The context calibrated the order of all the identities. Unless it was a gala, when my girlfriends and I would gladly be women first as we helped each other into ball gowns for evenings of delightful finger food, grace in all things, and – ultimately – dancing. Note to all who wonder why your conferences/events are stale: every conference or gala in Australia ends with dancing.

Don’t get me wrong, I got my share of unwelcomed full-body hugs in professional settings. However, we believed those to be exceptions. Unfortunate leftovers. Exceedingly rare echoes of times past. Our baseline was that we were multi-faceted beings who chose how we showed up in the world, and whether — and to what extent — our gender played a role.

Today, these paragraphs read like fiction. Whether it is historic or science fiction depends, I am told, on your age.

While many of my readers are my age (mid-40s) or older, I want to honor those who are younger. Our twin daughters are about to turn 22, and we are hurting for them. They were raised to think of gender disparity as a bizzare chapter in a history book. They came of age through #MeToo, believing that all people had agency of their bodies, that consent held power, and that nobody got to violate that. While some of us feel like we’re being thrust to a time we thought was relegated to history books, the young people are experiencing today’s gender and race politics like an the all-new, all-redifining A-bomb.

In 2025, one’s gender matters even when that makes no sense. Reproductive rights are retracted. Convicted sex offenders take elected office. Admirals are fired because their gender (!) makes them a “DEI hire.” Given how little our genitals and even hormones, let alone skin tone, have to do with excellence, with decency, with aspiration, with leadership, with kindness — with all that makes us the best we can be — millions of people are finding themselves halted in their tracks on the awkward bases of sex.

I know that many parents and all who do the vital work of parenting — aunts, uncles, step-, grand-, and otherwise-loving-adults — are wondering how to guide the next generation through a world that, in the eyes of the young people, has rescinded on its promises in favor of imposing constraints so artificial that they make no sense at all.

Time for a metaphor

You know how a car must ground to a halt before it can reverse? Well, having looked at this year’s responses, I wonder if that is a bit of what is happening. We — the changemakers of the world, gender a sidebar if not altogether irrelevant — were running at full speed to cure disease, reimage cities, eradicate poverty, develop legal frameworks for an interdependent world, leverage blockchain for good, train AI, activate social enterprise to replace aid, take leadership to the next level… We were focused on making the impossible into an everyday reality. We were, well, busy.

Now, many of us are flooring those brakes because wearing bras may be enough to discredit our lives’ work.

It is absurd!

It is offensive.

It is causing a whiplash.

But at most, we’ll be taken offline but for a beat.

Because whatever our road, we have the right to be on it. Nobody imposing flat identities gets to mess with that. Women have been making sure of this not only for women, but for ALL people in ALL places, reclaiming history and advocating for the future.

Whatever polling suggests, “women” are not a homogenous social block (how could it be?!). We are as diverse as can be. On a good day. This, however, is no longer a good day. And no women I know will concede their agency to anybody, let alone on the basis of body parts or potential to bear children.

I wonder if on this 8 March, we are just millions of cars frantically responding to alerts. Reprioritizing. Forced to redirect our momentum. With all the braking, the screeching, the chaos, the tire marks, and the frantic thumbing of new GPS coordinates that go with that.

But that is physics. Not surrender. Knowing who I know, I suspect that whoever – other women, men, political ideologies — thought that attacking women will get us onto our knees in their kitchens will find themselves whipped “the F” out.

If I may drop into gender/energy archetypes for a moment, women favor peace over war. War is a distraction for anybody who wants to build, to create, to nurture. However, I don’t have to dip deep into history to know that if war is called, women will fight and win. The Soviet Union is said to be the only nation to allow women to fight in combat during WWII, and I am a very proud granddaughter of combat veterans of both genders. If I may, those last three words feel really uncomfortable because nothing — not a gender, nor a color, nor anything else — should qualify the contribution of any person risking their life for their people.

In 2025, the actions of politicians can be interpreted as acts of war against… well, everything that doesn’t amplify the power of the few.

Women did not want or ask for a gender war. However, we’re more than up to swashing whoever thought it was a good idea. Knowing who I know, I bet we’ll win this war in a way that the ensures that the history books warn against any similar attempts in the future.

Our generals are seasoned, scarred, and ready to squish this “threat” like a mosquito. All so that we can all get back to reimagining, to creating, to solving, to cultivating, to making possible what hasn’t been possible before. For all, regardless of gender or skin color or creed. Because that is what we do. And who we are.

Enough from me, privileged to curate this conversation. Over to you!

We need to take action. Enough with the purple cupcakes and stories of successful women. It’s been 30 years since the UN announced this day, and whilst we have made progress, women are still being paid less for the same work, and domestic violence is higher than it’s ever been. We need to stop making this about women. I’s not a women’s issue, it’s a people issue!

Suzie Barnett, sustainability leader. NSW, Australia.

What do women changemakers need to say or to hear?

NB: what follows is a representative selection of quotes that may have been minimally edited for brevity or clarity.

On this International Women’s Day, it is more important than ever for women to be courageous and use their voices to stand up not only for themselves and each other, but also for all of the underserved, underrepresented, and targeted people of the world. This is not the time to be silent, complicit, or paralyzed by your fear. Now is the time to rise up, collaborate, and fight back to ensure that women and people around the world have the basic fundamental rights to safety, freedom, and the ability to thrive.

Jennifer Berthelot-Jelovic. WELL Fellow. Founder|CEO at SustainAble Production. CA, US.

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Our country is led by an adjudicated sexual predator, and that means something. It is not a coincidence, and we did not arrive at this juncture by accident.

In an era of low birth rates, I find it rage-inducing how many people and governments talk about the “need” to increase population as though women and the lack of support for women are not major factors here.

High quality, affordable, and government subsidized childcare should not be a luxury. The fact that we do not have it in the United States, speaks volumes about how much our government and fellow citizens care about raising the next generation. Subsidies for bombs and subsidies for billionaires, but not for anyone else.

I wish I could be more positive. I’m just pissed.

Sarah Sieloff, thought leader and urban planner. WA, US.

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When men help us celebrate, it’s to cheer on the women now doing all the work! Being worker bees, organisers, homemakers, champions of everything, strong like Amazons, good and patient as saints (when we’re not being devils on the bedroom). Great victory, huh?

An anonymous publisher

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As the world once again stands on the precipice of destructive, male-led authoritarianism, the glaring solution is thoughtful, creative, collaborative women. Be ready, my fellow female friends and colleagues — our time is right now.

Blair Palese, Director at Ethinvest, frm head of comms at Greenpeace. NSW, Australia.

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At 59, I’m more afraid for our daughters than ever. We must stand up and fight! This is not the world we want our daughters to inherit.

Michelle Darné, Founder and CEO, BLOOM Workforce Development. CA, US.

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We need to focus 2025 on resistance and resilience. Nurturing ourselves and each other to stay strong as we face another wave of patriarchal flex. Resisting all forms of gender inequity, together.

Jenna Davey-Burns. Activist. Elected government official. VIC, Australia.

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Women continue to be misrepresented in all walks of life and work. We all have a collective responsibility to recognize it around us and consciously change that. If each of us does that, the movement's momentum will be unstoppable.

Sujatha Ramani. CEO of Pollinate Group. India & Nepal.

Resist – you have the power!

Cynthia Dai, CEO of Dainamic Consulting. CA, US.

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Women are the caretakers in our families, often sandwiched between caring both for the young and the older people in our lives. However, what is on my mind every day now is caretaking for our planet. In so many ways she is calling out to us to stop the relentless destruction of our air, water, land, and everything that lives here. It may be up to the women of this earth to stop this because we are able to think beyond our selfish and short-term needs to future generations. We must join together and have our voices be heard, our innovations be used, and our behavior as a species changed to protect the planet.

Dr. Caroline Kurtz, a SynBio leader. MA, US.

Your effort, time and presence matter.

An anonymous major in the US Air Force.

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As we celebrate International Women's Day, hold your mothers, daughters, aunts, sisters, and women friends close. Life today can be incredibly tough and uncertain, but it is also filled with moments of pure joy. When we stand strong together, support one another, and embrace each other tightly, we find the strength to overcome any challenge. Let's cherish these bonds and lift each other up, today and always.

Lynn Simon, FAIA, LEED Fellow. Principal at Arup. CA, US.

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Stay focused on a longer-term goal. With so much chaos going on right now, keeping the goal post in sight can help push through and not get distracted and demoralized.

Dr. Jennifer Harman. Professor at Colorado State University. CO, US.

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Hope and resisting apathy. Showing kindness and compassion in our daily lives matter. It is resistance. It is hope.

An anonymous leader in state government. CA, US.

Let’s listen to one another with our whole self. Put the judgement aside for a bit and truly listen to another point of view. If you do, you might learn something or even open the door for others to listen to you.

Kathryn Lopez. Global Account Director, JLL. US.

As black women leaders, we have a hard time being vulnerable and asking for support. When you lead, support means that somebody picks up where you left off. Literally or because you were never going to have all the answers. We need support, and it cannot be reduced to tasks. Support is how people show up in the moment.

Nikki Beaskley, CEO of Richmond Neighborhood Housing Association. CA, US.

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Recently, I heard the saying, “There is a me-shaped hole in the universe, waiting to be filled.” When we feel like there is so much pressure to be a certain kind of leader, or a certain type of parent, it offers solace and permission to play the roles that I need to play, the way that I believe they should be.

Alexie Seller, CEO of Enterprise Learning Projects. NT, Australia

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Matrescence is a beautiful concept that should be shared more widely.

Dr. Whitney Austin Grey, SVP Research at IWBI. US.

The behaviors traditionally associated with women — empathy, collaboration, connection — are exactly what’s needed in this moment. These strengths will enable us to make the change we need and help see us through what we cannot change.

Michelle Malanca Frey, consulsant to mission-driven organizations. CA, US.

We are so committed to making change outside of ourselves. How often do we come home to ourselves and see what change we can make to our habituated thinking patterns to make us more happy, less stressed and more productive. All good software needs to be updated, our brain software included.

Simone Concha, sustainability consultant and coach. NSW, Australia

Know where it's appropriate to take action and what you can be accountable for, but we all need to know how to stop stressing about what we can’t control. Keep doing our change-making but avoid the anxiety of needing to control an outcome.

Maria Atkinson AM. Global thought leader.

Building a business, leading a large team, serving on boards, caring for family, ticking off home admin, managing menopause, coping with health issues, keeping fit enough, mentoring others, giving back to society … we juggle so much yet worry we aren’t doing enough.

Some days I remind myself that, actually, 80% is probably nailing it.

An anonymous third-sector leader. Australia.

In your own words, what do you think women changemakers need to say or to hear?

Why does 8 March matter to me?

Growing up in the Soviet Union, we had one public holiday that celebrated all women and girls, and another that celebrated all men and boys. The latter happened to also be my birthday, so for a blissful sliver of early childhood, I thought I was special enough for country-wide fireworks. Growing up is a bummer, ain’t it.

Some argue that Mother’s and Father’s Days are the Western equivalents, but they never felt that way to me. What about all the people who didn’t want or couldn’t have children, or whose children weren’t going to celebrate them? Perhaps, I just liked that women could be celebrated for just being.

Granted, the scientific and, as it catches up, social understanding of gender is more nuanced. I am not alone in wishing to reimagine quite a few public holidays. However, as long as women continue to play a distinct role in society — as long as they are, by choice or by force, our social glue and the lifeblood of families — I love creating space for this holiday every year!