Happy International Women’s Day, everyone! 
Today, we’re celebrating the incredible achievements of women around the world. It’s a day to recognize the progress we’ve made toward gender equality, and to keep pushing for more.
At our company, we’re lucky to have an amazing team of talented women who are making a real impact in their fields. So, to mark this special day, we sat down with some of our fabulous female staff members 
to talk about their experiences and feelings around this years theme of #EmbraceEquity.
Let’s hear from our amazing women staff members and celebrate the power of women this International Women’s Day! 
What does IWD mean to you?
Andrea
To me it means we are recognizing how far we as women have come, while also acknowledging we still have work to do. It means we are honoring the collective efforts of the women who came before us that allowed us to be in the positions we are today. IWD is a reminder that it is only through these continued collective efforts that girls and women after us will have a world where they feel a sense of empowerment, self-efficacy and agency.
Maggie
International Women’s Day is a day to acknowledge and honor the outstanding accomplishments of women throughout history and reaffirm our commitment to the ongoing fight for gender equality
Courtnie
International Women’s Day is a day to commemorate and honor the MANY sacrifices and achievements made by women across the world.
Aisha
International Women’s Day is one day a year that we as a global community get to dedicate our energy to uplifting and celebrating the dynamic experiences, voices, and contributions of women around the world. It signifies a step in the right direction to center our energy and time around women and their brilliance, in ways that we have not in the past. It is a beautiful way to say “I see you” to women everywhere.
Heather
International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on the progress and successes that we have made in the feminist movement, but also recognize the hard and necessary work that still needs to be done. I am so thankful to be in a society that blesses modern women with so many benefits and rights compartively to previous times, but I still see a better future for my children and any children after.
This year's theme is #EmbraceEquity. What does equity mean for women in 2023?
Andrea
Maggie
It means to move from a mindset of Equality (Opportunity) to Equity (Fairness) though it’s still a stepping stone to liberation.
Aisha
I love this theme of #embraceequity and the word equity holds a lot of weight for women, especially in 2023. For decades, we have seen decisions being made for women by folks who are not women and by non-women-centered and non-women-led institutions, about our bodies, our paychecks, and our choices. We are seeing progress in some areas like pay equity in sports and increased representation in politics, and we are seeing regression in others like access to quality healthcare for ALL women, and not just some. Equity means in 2023 that as we continue to increase representation in every space, we have to continue to build infrastructures that elevate women’s voices, value their experiences, believe their truths, and allow women to take up space in every room their in.
Heather
Womanhood is not a one size fits all solution. Every woman has different needs, different traumas, different backgrounds, etc. Our societal solutions need to evolve to take into account the vast diversity that our world holds. In 2023 I hope to continue to push to the idea of #listeningtowomensneeds
How do you succeed in a male-dominated environment?
Andrea
When women support other women unearthed powers are revealed. Success in any environment, but particularly in a male-dominated one, can only happen when we support each other.
Maggie
Seek allyship, hold ourselves and others accountable, uplift underrepresented communities whenever possible.
Courtnie
I succeed in a male-dominated space as I do in any space– as myself. I take the liberty to define what success looks like for me and relentlessly make the choice to consistently show up as my fullest self, bringing my experiences, identities, values, ideas, etc. to the table to achieve “success”.
Aisha
I choose to do my own personal work of questioning narratives that I might have been taught or I just absorbed growing up, about gender norms and expectations. I focus my personal journey on returning to my sense of agency, not only as a woman but as a black woman. I invite the nuance and complexity of intersectionality into my decision making. And I’m a big believer in the power of community as well, and lean a lot on my community of amazing women for inspiration, ideas, affirmation, and continued growth. The more we uplift each other as women, the more we realize that we are much more alike than different.
Heather
So… men scare me. I don’t know when it happened, but I believe years of trauma built up and I have internalized fear of violence, raised voices, and retaliation. I don’t tolerate these environments or these types of men anymore. I am open and honest about what I am ok and not ok with and how I wanted to be treated. This can be really hard to get to though, and it came after years of abuse, crying, panic attacks, and misplaced shame.
What can men do to help to achieve equality?
Andrea
Men can listen more, lead with curiosity and give themselves permission to be wrong.
Maggie
Educate themselves, become ally’s, learn to repair damage, reflect on unconscious bias.
Aisha
Men can start by listening. We talk all the time at iOE with clients about growth over guilt and curiosity over judgement. Choosing to want to grow over operating from a place of guilt and choosing to be open and exploratory instead of closed and jumping to judgement. This is a perfect place to start when trying to support women. I believe that we as men and women are different –our experiences, our voices, our bodies, are different. Instead of trying to create a world in which we are treated the exact same, men can support creating structures that allow for women to access what they need to thrive. And when in doubt, ASK! 🙂
Heather
Learning about women. Asking women questions. Doing proper research and not just relying on Alpha bros and pickup artists for knowledge.
How has iOpening made a difference in embracing equity for women?
Andrea
Decision making, conversation leading and innovative ideas by women are the norm at iOE.
Maggie
By creating environments of psychological safety where the difficult conversations can be had.
Aisha
iOpening Enterprises embraces equity in so many ways and I’m so grateful to be apart of a company whose focus is transforming systems and cultures to support wellbeing and equity. We embrace equity for women by starting with our own internal culture and as we often say ” we are our own use case”. We have a majority women staff at iOpening Enterprises and are proud to have a male CEO who is not only excited about that, but wants to ensure we practice what we preach. Equity over equality is one of our company values, which means that instead of assuming everyone needs the same thing, we take the time to determine what each person needs and how to ensure they have the tools to be successful. In our work with clients, we support organizations to think critically about how their most important identities, like being a woman, is directly connected to the way folks show up at work. And then identify the disproportionate benefits and burdens ways of operating across the organization, have on particular identities.
Heather
I feel seen, valued, and heard in all of my interactions. This has been the most welcoming woman-led environment I have been in since I started working more than 10 years ago. My womanhood does not inhibit any of my interactions or my work value.
Who is your woman role model and why?
Maggie
Arianna Huffington- dominated in the media world and has pushed even further with her well-being empire.
Courtnie
I am. The very definition of role model is “a person looked to by others as an example.” I am my own example. Each day, I strive to be better than the day before. I look intrinsically for the inspiration and motivation to keep growing, keep glowing and keep growing–no matter what! I didn’t come this far, just to come this far. 🙂
Aisha
My woman role model is my late, great, and beautiful, grandmother. She helped raise me and always led with empathy while maintaining a strong sense of self, especially as a woman. She was often the only woman in her home as she gave birth to and raised six boys in a time where there were many more limits and restrictions on the space women could take up. My grandmother understood the complexity and nuance of what it is to be a woman in America and in the world, and never wavered from who she knew she was, regardless of the numerous challenges thrown her way.
Heather
I have a friend who I call ‘Mama Me’. She is literally the “grown-up” version of me and I have looked to her for so much inspiration, advice, and love. She has taught me to be true to myself and has supported me for years as I have grown into myself.
