Open Letter Demands Accountability from International Women’s Day Website Owners
More than 900 individuals have signed an open letter addressed to the owners of the website internationalwomensday.com, calling on them to either "contribute meaningfully" to the cause or step aside from their current role.
“It is our strong belief that you have been exploiting a social movement for financial gain, without addressing any of the genuine structural issues the day was founded on,”the letter states. It was authored by two UK-based professionals and has gained significant traction on social media platforms.
Background on the Website and UN Distancing
In December of last year, an investigation revealed that a London-based marketing firm had operated the internationalwomensday.com website for several years. Many British brands mistakenly believed this site to be affiliated with the United Nations’ official International Women’s Day celebrations.
The UN has since publicly distanced itself from the website. Each year, the site promotes its own theme for International Women’s Day, which differs from the official UN-selected theme. For 2024, the website’s theme is "Give to Gain."
Concerns Raised by Campaigners
Belinda Jane Batt, a coach who works with mothers and one of the letter’s authors, explained her motivation for writing the letter after observing the campaigning conducted by internationalwomensday.com over several years.
“There was just a lot of confusion that I was seeing on all of the social media channels and in my own networks of women about this conflation of the International Women’s Day website with the movement of International Women’s Day,”she said.
“It is beginning to feel like the entire movement of International Women’s Day is being watered down and turned into this kind of almost meaningless marketing, where the words and the themes don’t actually seem to marry up with a genuine desire to advance women’s rights.”
Adoption of Website’s Themes by British Organisations
The themes promoted by internationalwomensday.com have been adopted by several British organisations, including Sainsbury’s, Barclays, the University of Warwick, and University College London’s School of Management. Some of these institutions have cited the website’s themes as if they were the official themes endorsed by the UN.
Response from Website Owners
Following ’s report, the owners of internationalwomensday.com responded by stating that no single entity owns the International Women’s Day movement. They described their website as "one of many groups that now mark the day worldwide." The company behind the site is owned by Glenda Slingsby, a marketing executive. The website’s wording remains ambiguous regarding its connection to the UN-recognised International Women’s Day.
Over the years, the site has established partnerships with prominent corporations such as the London Eye, MetLife insurance, BP, and Ernst & Young accounting firm.
The website also sells merchandise and provides downloadable templates for purple flags intended to decorate cupcakes.
Criticism from Diversity and Inclusion Advocates
Mo Kanjilal, a Brighton-based founder of a training company specializing in diversity, equity, and inclusion, signed the open letter. She expressed that she has been aware of internationalwomensday.com for many years and believes it "infantilises" the day.
“The theme they announce is always quite corporate,”she said.
“Three words, kind of vacuous, making fun – in a way – of International Women’s Day. You strike a pose or do a selfie and hug yourself.”
Kanjilal found this year’s theme, "Give to Gain," particularly frustrating.
“We had girls killed in Iran, girls in Afghanistan that can’t go to school. In this country, six years since the death and murder of Sarah Everard, the fight for women’s rights is serious – 74,000 women a year lose their jobs through maternity discrimination. Asking us to pose and say ‘Give to Gain’ is not going to help with any of that.”
Call for Transparency and Genuine Support
Belinda Jane Batt emphasized that the letter aims to encourage the website’s operators to be more transparent about their activities and beneficiaries.
“Where is all that money going? Is any of it going to causes that are for women, for women’s advancement, for women’s rights? I think these are things that need to be made more transparent.”
