#BeBoldForChange This International Women’s Day

Each year there is a different theme for International Women's Day, and 2017's theme is #BeBoldForChange. Organisations and individuals around the world will be pledging their support, leading the way and taking bold action to make sure that they are helping women advance and unleash their potential.

How Can I #BeBoldForChange?

Being bold for change doesn't mean you have to do anything crazy. Over on the International Women's Day official website, there are a list of categories containing bold actions and things you can do to make a difference. Here's the low down...

'I'll challenge bias and inequality'

This is something both men and women deal with every day, and something we definitely want to get on board with. Actions you can take include:

• Pulling people up on exclusive language.  For example, if
• Challenging stereotypes. For example, if someone makes a comment about 'all women', correct them, and let them know that 'all women' are not the same.
• Call it out when women are excluded. For example, if there are try-outs for your school, college, university, or workplace's football team, but adverts only target men, call it out!

'I'll Celebrate Women's Achievement'

Both men and women can achieve incredible things with hard work and determination. It's important to celebrate both. Actions you can take include:

• Hail the success of women leaders. Is your manager female? Are the blogs you read created by women? Do you support a female politician? It's time to shout about it!
• Celebrate women's journeys and the barriers overcome. If you haven't read our 'What Is International Women's Day' post, take a look. We talked all about the women that inspire us and their journeys and battles. Why not do the same?
• Reinforce and support women's triumphs. Why not do a little research about inspiration women who have managed to overcome some difficulties and send it on to your friends?

'I'll Champion Women's Education'

There is still an issue globally with women not getting the same education as men, and we need to stand up and make a difference. Here's what you can do:

• Support women inventors of new products and services. This isn't about beauty, but some of our favourite brands at HQhair were created by women, for example MDMflow, Pixi and thisworks.
• Celebrate women researchers discovering new knowledge. Heard of the L'Oreal Foundation 'Discov-her'? We hadn't either, but after a little research we found that this foundation showcases women making science happen, and support women in the industry with their campaign '#ChangeTheNumbers', as only 30% of researchers in the world are women. Why not share the campaign across your social media channels?