March 8th is International Woman’s Day

In 1911 International Women’s Day is sponsored worldwide by the United Nations. Women socialists and trade unions held an earlier Women’s Day on the last Sunday in February, 1908. The focus is upon women workers, and advancing women’s rights in the workforce, politics and society. In 1980 President Jimmy Carter (US), encouraged by the National Woman’s History Project (NWHP), devoted the entire second week of March in the U.S. to spotlighting women’s achievements.

The United Nations and many organizations and companies host conferences during this time to further promote and address women’s issues and rights. The theme for the 2010 International Woman’s Day is “Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for All.”

In the article: Five Ways to Celebrate International Woman’s Day, the writers of Hello Ladies share these 5 ways to celebrate International Woman’s Day:
1. Support equal pay.
2. Support a woman candidate.
3. Support healthcare reform.
4. Help support reproductive rights for women worldwide.
5. Support Yourself. Each of the five tips goes into detail about what we can do.

Read more at: Hello Ladies.

 Watch this Video About International Women’s Day by GirlsMakingMedia.com Lani made this video for the 100th celebration of International Women’s Day 2010. Girls Making Media is funded by WomanKraft Art Center, Earth Web Media, and the American Association of University Women

You can visit us at www.girlsmakingmedia.com

This video entitled: International Women’s Day (8 March 2010) – Message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon tells a compelling story of equality. Watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye8iGQ1d9Cg

Other notable events on March 8th:

 Girls Write Now Day. See www.girlswritenow.org

1936 For the first time ever, car racing was done in Daytona. Organized specifically for stock car racing participants, this was considered an early start of the Daytona 500.

1972 First flight of the Goodyear blimp

1950 B R Walters becomes the firts woman medical officer assigned to a naval vessel

1946 1st helicopter licensed for commercial use in New York City

1945 Phyllis M. Daley is the first black nurse sworn-in as U.S. Navy ensign

1910 Baroness Raymonde de Laroche of Paris becomes the first licensed female pilot

What could your company do on International Woman’s Day? In addition to supporting local, national and international initiatives, you could have a Day of the Woman Celebration in your business and or your community inviting women’s groups to come together in unity to create an event to remember.

More great marketing ideas can be found in the Quirky Marketing Calendar ~ How to Use Zany and Non-traditional Holidays to Promote Your Business 365 Days a Year!

*NEW!

March is National Women’s History Month

March is National Women’s History Month ~ In addition to celebrating Women’s History Month with traditional events and promotions (dinner meetings, networking, breakfasts, luncheons, fashion shows), try something different. Here are four ideas that worked for Women In Ecommerce™:

1. Tech ‘n Tell – hosted by a vendor where the vendor is also the guest speaker and can give a demonstration.
2. Goddess Gatherings” – Small events hosted in your home inviting women who are not presently connected with one another to network and get to know each other. You provide the refreshments and have one or two vendors come to showcase their products and services  
3. Outdoors – Scavenger Hunt – Bricks ‘n Mortar companies with an Online presence – Give clues for guests to solve involving visits to various businesses in your community. The businesses can even be your sponsors and you can use them in your marketing. 
4.  Create your own Holiday to Celebrate the Month – Check out Virtual Woman’s Day™ to see what the Women In Ecommerce™ does each year.
 
March is also Small Press Month ~ Create a tips booklet for your company.  People are more likely to keep a tips booklet than a brochure so they become an ongoing sales tool for your company.  I have one that is all about “Getting Organized“ that I’ve had for years. Wedding planners could write the 49 tips to plan a worry-free wedding.  A Chiropractor could write 57 Natural Remedies to Better Health. A women’s boutique owner could write – How to Create 27 Outfits out of 4 when You Mix and Match Your Wardrobe. One of the tips booklets I wrote is “Networking is More than Just Passing Out Business Cards.”

Tips booklets have staying power. People are less likely to toss them out than they are brochures and other advertising media.  Make sure yours is filled with great information your target audience wants and needs and you will see what I mean. I have one from a professional organizer that was given to me at least 10 years ago and I have referred to it on a number of ocassions as well as quoted from it and shared the ideas (and author) with my own circles.

BTW, if you need help creating your tips booklet, check out my friend Paulette Ensign’s site at http://www.tipsbooklets.com/. Paulette has sold well over a million copies of her own tips booklet, in 4 languages and various formats (so far!), without spending a penny on advertising!

Other Notable events on March 6th in History:

2007 ~ Mega Millions has the highest lottery jackpot ever totalling $370 million dollars 

1988 ~ Julie Krone becomes winningest female jockey with 1205 victories

1980 ~ French Academy, founded in 1635, elects its 1st woman novelist ~ Marguerita Youcenar

1976 ~ Worlds Ladies Figure Skating Champ in Gothenburg was won by Dorothy Hamill 

1940 ~ 1st U.S. telecast from an airplane over New York City 

1933 ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a nationwide bank holiday 

1906 ~ Nora Blatch is 1st woman elected to the American Society of Civil Engineers