Marked annually on March 8th, International Women’s Day (IWD) is a day in which we take the time to reflect on the social, cultural, economic, and political achievements made by women all around the world – while also campaigning for greater progress towards gender equality.
This year’s official campaign theme is ‘Choose To Challenge’. A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let’s all #ChooseToChallenge.
However, we here at Payoneer always strive to go beyond and go furtHER, so we launched our very own IWD 2021 campaign – ‘Unmute Yourself’. Through this campaign, we encourage everyone to go furtHER by unmuting themselves and pledging their commitment to choose to challenge stereotypes and address all forms of gender equality.
In addition, we couldn’t be prouder to be a company where a majority of our team are women.
Take a look for yourself!
Patricia Francisco
Senior Customer Success Manager, Philippines
“Gender equality for me is all about being granted equal rights, equal responsibilities and freedom in all areas of life, regardless of gender. I’ve personally felt that society has had very high expectations of me, especially because I am a woman and I always felt that I had to constantly explain myself to others, which can be extremely tiresome. If gender equality were to exist, we would be living in a much happier world.
Being kinder and more accepting is something that we human beings should work on and if we just open our minds a bit and understand that we all have different beliefs and cultures, then the world would be a much better place. I encourage others to always lead by example, be the best person you can be and to simply live your life.”
Nida Rasool
Marketing Manager, Pakistan
“To me, gender equality means having equal access to all opportunities and sharing the same experience whether it’s in our systems or everyday lives. I encourage everyone to connect themselves with those who share the same thoughts, follow organizations who offer support and be brave enough to raise your voice on something that you feel is right. Never be afraid to speak your mind. In a gender equal world, I truly believe there would be more acceptance of one another, more tolerance, empathy and last but not least, more creativity.”
Anna Konstantinovsky
Product Manager, Israel
“Gender equality to me means establishing a full partnership between men and women in both the workplace and at home and acting as a role model for future generations. Men and women should receive the same opportunities in order to follow their dreams and any obstacles that may come our way shouldn’t be related to our gender. In a gender equal world, everything will come more naturally, and we will no longer be so surprised when women take the role of CEO or Vice President, instead, we’ll celebrate these accomplishments equally. Women can no longer be the only fighters for gender equality, men need to step up and take action as well, so let’s work together.”
Gil Ortega
Senior Sales Manager, North America
“Gender equality is all about having access to the same opportunities and resources, regardless of your identity. It’s about having the ability to be valued by your actions and hard work, not by your gender. I encourage others to trust themselves and speak up about things that don’t feel right to them. If you feel something is unjust, odds are that others around you will feel the same.”
Piyush Kukreja
Partnerships Manager, India
“We are all human beings first before we even play the role of a male or female. People should be respected regardless of their skin color, religion and even gender. I strongly believe that humanity is the best answer to gender inequality. I myself have never experienced obstacles in my career due to my gender, however, that is not the case with many women, and it has to stop now.”
Samson Wong
Regional Finance Manager APAC, Hong Kong
“People of all genders should have equal opportunities to pursue a career or lifestyle without being discriminated against purely based on their gender. The world would definitely be a better place if there were gender equality, we’d see a lot more diversity in the way people think, and we would be able to solve a lot more problems. My advice to others who struggle with speaking up is not to feel small about yourself and if there are moments where you feel powerless, talk to someone close and ask for their support.”
This International Women’s Day and every day forward, we encourage you to unmute yourself and speak up against gender bias, which will help lead us one step closer to becoming a more gender equal world.
So how else can we help create a more gender equal world? Below you can find six missions developed by the official IWD Community all aimed at raising greater awareness on issues impacting women’s equality.
Remember, honoring women’s accomplishments, while calling out inequality, is the key to change.
Happy International Women’s Day!