This year’s International Women’s Day theme, Embrace Equity, challenges women and allies in using their sphere of influence to create a fair and equal world. Such equity is important for social, economic, cultural and political advancement of women.

The first fight for women’s rights is said to date back to 1908, where 15,000 women took to the streets in New York City to protest for better pay, shorter working hours, as well as the right to vote. The following year, the Socialist Party of America declared the last Sunday in February the first National Women’s Day in honor of the strike. In 1910, in the midst of an international conference, it was proposed and unanimously voted among more than 100 in attendance from 17 different countries to officially create International Women’s Day around the world. In 1914, the globally recognized holiday marked March 8 as the official day to celebrate women going forward.

Since then we have seen strides made in efforts of women’s equality, including the first woman referee of a big game in February, first woman attorney general for Israel, first woman director of Major League operations for the New York Mets major league baseball team, and the first woman Vice President of the United States. We are also seeing more and more Fortune 500 companies that are run by female leaders such as General Motors, The Hershey Company, Nasdaq, Inc., and Mary Kay. 

Mary Kay is a company that has embraced both equality and equity for women while providing jobs for hundreds of women right here in Utah. In honor of the 100-year anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in America, Mary Kay was recently named as one of the USA Today’s women of the century, an honor recognizing those who have significantly impacted their community and their country. For more than 50 years, Mary Kay Incorporated has empowered women while changing the world of business. After experiencing inequality in the workplace herself, Mary Kay Ash knew she had to make a change not only for herself, but for all women. In 1963, Mary Kay Ash launched her business and disrupted the idea of business as usual, turning the male dominated workplace on its head in the process of change champion and groundbreaking businesswomen. Mary Kay Ash dedicated her life to empowering women and putting them in control of their own futures, and as result implemented a mission to enrich the lives of women and their families around the world.

Local Independent Sales Director Christy Flater has put herself in the driver’s seat of one of the best in class car incentive programs by earning the use of nine Mary Kay career cars. All of this is done through her hard work, applying the skills taught and the valuable resources and education offered by Mary Kay. “I’ve been enriched by my independent business with Mary Kay. I am blessed to be offered the opportunity to travel with the most positive people, engage in a daily growth environment, and coach women to work with their divine strengths, recognize their positive influence within their homes and their communities,” Flater said. “Our culture is the foundation of Mary Kay, and it is only as strong as the next generation that upholds it.”

According to Flater, Mary Kay created a culture in the salesforce to share ideas and build each other up. It is a place where Flater said, “I can fail forward to success, while having cheerleaders tell me I can do it, all while they lead by example.” That is exactly the goal of this year’s International Women’s Day as www.internationalwomensday.com claims that “together we can work collectively to impact positive change.”

International Women’s Day invites you to show the world your embrace by striking a self-hug pose to show solidarity. Share your #EmbraceEquity image across social media using #IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity. 

Want to learn more about the culture, mission and benefits Mary Kay offers? Check out Holly’s Highlights podcast season two episode five. Join us as Flater, our special guest, shares with us about the impact of Mary Kay in her life, her goal in helping serve and encourage other women, and how we can get involved with such supportive endeavors such as the Mary Kay Ash Foundation. Holly’s Highlights podcast is available at www.hollycurby.com and wherever you listen to podcasts including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora and even “Alexa, play Holly’s Highlights podcast season two episode five.”