International Women’s Day (IWD) is observed annually on March 8 to celebrate women’s achievements worldwide and to reflect and recognise progress made by women in nation building.

It is also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace.

The global theme for the 2021 celebration is, #ChooseToChallenge. It indicates that a "challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change."

United Nations

The day was set aside by the UN to remind governments, policy makers and stakeholders of their key roles to rally support for women towards a common goal of ensuring their empowerment.

Events are held worldwide on March 8 to observe IWD, during which women, including political, community and business leaders, as well as leading educators, inventors, entrepreneurs and television personalities, are usually invited to speak at various events on the day.

As a result, Hollard Ghana, an insurance firm, turned the spotlight on its female staff dubbed ‘Hollardite Women’ to celebrate them on the occasion of the IWD.

A statement issued by the company indicated that its women staff across its various departments lead the charge to ensure that insurance becomes a lifestyle with easy access, availability to all and providing much-needed financial security when people need it the most.

“As it should be, we celebrate their leadership, hard work, innovation, and excellence in shaping a more equal future in a coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” the statement said.

Decision making

At Hollard, women are integral to decision-making with 50 per cent of its executive leadership being women.

As a three-time recognised top employer, Hollard Ghana and its subsidiaries Hollard Insurance and Hollard Life Assurance, believe in providing equal opportunities and an enabling environment to help women advance.

“Through their work, delivering financial security to Hollard customers and ‘doing well by doing good,’ as our mantra goes, our accomplished Hollardite Women are vanguards of the insurance industry. They take ownership of their roles, are enterprising, make no excuses, form alliances with partners to overachieve targets.

“They are stars who show up at work with fierce energy while putting their best foot forward to get things done and done well. Even in the face of personal and work challenges brought on by COVID, they are provident, delivering, and we could not be prouder of their contributions. Their priority is to the success of our business.

“Living the Hollard Way, guided by tenets of community, mindfulness, innovation, sustainability, and excellence, the Hollardite Women are examples of personality and culture.

“In everything they think, say, and do, they are lionhearted, challenging, and inventive; wholehearted, down to earth, and genuine. Sometimes playful, always unconventional but never cliché.

“They are serious about what they do, but never about themselves. They have a certain thing that sets them apart, a spark, an energy, and a twinkle of an eye. In their work and interactions, they are Hollardites, through and through.”

Challenge systems

On this International Women’s Day, Hollardite women hold their hands up and pledge to challenge systems, and cultures by speaking up against inequality and being accountable for their biases at work and home.

“As part of our social goals towards an equal future we will use our skills and resources, and those of our partners, to actively engage in developing systemic social impact solutions. We #ChooseToChallenge because a challenged world is truly an alert world, motivated by change, enabling a better future for all.”