This year’s International Women’s Day shows up at an interesting time. Currently, some high-profile companies, including Target, are cutting back on their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts — either because of political pressure or for another reason they believe will help the bottom line.
In January 2025, the national U.S. media reported on an internal memo Target sent its employees, saying it would be ending its three-year DEI goals and how the retailer would stop participating in third-party diversity surveys.
The impact of Target’s DEI shift was also a hot topic in traditional and social media, with people citing Target’s recent decline in foot traffic. And the retailer itself described its February sales as “soft.” Then this week, a black Atlanta-area pastor encouraged people to boycott Target for the next 40 days.
Why We Still Care About DEI
So where does this leave us, as we consider the long-running International Women’s Day (IWD) holiday this year? And where does it leave First San Francisco Partners, talking about IWD on our blog?
We’ve written about IWD, which is every March 8, for several years here on FSFP’s blog and on our Founder and CEO Kelle O’Neal’s LinkedIn page.
When Kelle and I talked about this year’s IWD article and I suggested we might skip covering it, she said we should write about it again this year. She made a point about how we still need to remove barriers to make things more equitable for women, especially when it comes to hiring and people management. And I agreed.
Why is IWD, celebrated every March 8, important and what does the day signify? Watch this.
Thoughts on IWD From Our Data Consultants
I reached out to some of FSFP’s leaders and data consultants to get their thoughts on IWD’s 2025 theme, “accelerate action,” which the organization describes in this way:
Collectively, we can Accelerate Action for gender equality.
Step forward in solidarity for IWD 2025 on March 8 to help #AccelerateAction. At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158, which is roughly five generations from now, to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum.
Focusing on the need to Accelerate Action emphasizes the importance of taking swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. It calls for increased momentum and urgency in addressing the systemic barriers and biases that women face, both in personal and professional spheres. So, together, let’s Accelerate Action to speed up the rate of progress worldwide.
Ryan Bergstrom, Head of Delivery
“Throughout my career in data, much of the space is dominated by men; however, the majority of the women I’ve worked with would land in my top tier of most talented and impressive people. If I could wave a magic wand, I would make the younger generations aware that women in data are a force to be reckoned with (in the best possible way) … that it’s a career path ripe with opportunity and worth pursing … that a world with data is never going away. I’d want (and am actively making sure she knows) my daughter to know that data is gender-neutral. Additionally, the path to being an amazing data professional isn’t linear. You don’t have to be all ‘data data data’ your whole life in order to excel. Having a background in psychology, music engineering, philosophy, history or anything else non-data related doesn’t preclude you from becoming a data superstar.” –Ryan Bergstrom, Head of Delivery
“I would focus on investing in community-building and protecting diversity and gender equality in the workforce. Also important: the recognition and structural support of working in all forms — child care, elder care, housework, etc.” – Maggie McGlenn, CDMP, Metadata & Data Governance Analyst
Petra Jungbluth, Junior Analyst
“If I could wave a magic wand, I would make it so all genders are perceived equally in the workplace. This mental shift encourages career growth opportunities based on someone’s talent and achievements, removing biases that hold women back in advancing in their careers. Additionally, equal perception of all genders would create a more inclusive and collaborative workplace, shifting focus away from outdated gender power structures and towards recognizing individuals for their unique strengths. As a result of this, women will be able to begin their careers with a strong foundation of confidence in themselves and in advocating for their ideas. They will have been able to build a strong trust in their personal skills, empowering them to contribute more and take on leadership roles sooner.” – Petra Jungbluth, Junior Analyst
“Never underestimate the value of how much your voice tone, inflection and pitch contribute to your communication and how you are perceived as a professional. So, if I had magical power, I’d use it for good, helping everyone (especially women) master these subtle skills, amplifying their ability to inspire and drive change more effectively.” – Val Torstenson, Senior Consultant
Kelle O’Neal, Founder and CEO
“While having a magic wand would grant me immense power with one wave, I’d use it dozens of times in a row, summoning lots of start-small magic! Figuring out how best to champion diversity in the world and workplace doesn’t have to be constrained to big, magical initiatives and projects. Accelerating action on a big scale is fantastic, but it’s not always possible. For example, a simple conversation can encourage a peer or a woman who’s newer in her career to have the assertiveness to ask for a raise, advocate for a bigger title or perform a high-stakes activity with confidence. Starting small gives you a chance to do something today instead of waiting for the stars to align tomorrow, and those actions can spark waves of inspiration, empowering others to join in and amplify the impact.” –Kelle O’Neal, Founder and CEO
“If I could change one thing to help women’s advancement, it would be free access to high-quality education and job skills training. All too often, advancement of smart, talented women is unnecessarily slowed or stalled due to a lack of credentials or experience that could be obtained from cost-prohibitive programs.” –Becky Lyons, PhD, Principal Consultant
Teri Hinds, CDMP, Principal Consultant
“If I could wave a magic wand to quickly accelerate action in support of women worldwide, I would reinstate funding and support for USAID programs around the world that address and protect women’s rights to healthcare and safety in their homes and communities. I would also remove from Congressional consideration the SAVE Act (HR8281 / S4292) which, if passed, would significantly disenfranchise thousands of American women who have at any time in their lives changed their last names, including when marrying.” –Teri Hinds, CDMP, Principal Consultant
“In a word: empathy – because true empathy cannot exist without action. Our different talents, gifts, and experiences don’t just complement one another for the sake of linear progress; their impact generates collective advancement in all areas.” –Stephanie Paradis, CDMP, Principal Consultant
Accelerating Action: From Words to Impact
The voices of some of my colleagues reflect a common thread — the need for meaningful, tangible steps toward gender equality. While IWD provides an important moment for reflection, the true measure of progress to become a more diverse, equitable and inclusive world comes through sustained action every day of the year.
IDW’s call to #accelerateaction isn’t just a hashtag, it’s a reminder that waiting until 2158 for gender parity is simply unacceptable.
The magic wands our team members described aren’t actually magical at all. They represent practical, achievable changes: creating inclusive workplaces, investing in education, building supportive communities, recognizing work in all its forms and starting with “small magic” that can create ripple effects of positive change.
Perhaps the most powerful insight here is that accelerating action doesn’t always require grand gestures. It lives in our daily decisions, in how we advocate for ourselves and others, in the spaces we create that allow diverse voices to flourish, and in our commitment to measuring progress not just in statements but in tangible outcomes.
After March 8, 2025, let’s carry the spirit of acceleration with us — turning conversation into change, awareness into advocacy and intention into impact. While the current environment may imply that DEI initiatives no longer matter, there’s more work that can be done.
