International Women’s Day on March 8 is all about celebrating the achievements of women and working toward gender equity in the workplace and beyond. If you’re wondering how to celebrate International Women’s Day 2023, you’ve come to the right place. Here at LovelySkin, we believe supporting women right in your community or elsewhere in the world is the perfect way to celebrate. In honor of the holiday, we’d like to challenge you to pay it forward by making moves that support women, including:

• Support women-owned businesses
• Get involved with an empowering organization
• Help a friend who needs support
• Mentor a woman in your field
• Be the woman you needed when you were younger
• Reconnect with yourself

6 ways we love to support women

1. Support women-owned businesses

Did you know LovelySkin is both woman-founded and women-powered? Nancy Schlessinger co-founded LovelySkin with Dr. Joel Schlessinger in 1997 and continues to serve as Vice President. She is also President of Olive & Delmar, a skin health solutions company that includes brands such as FixMySkin, afa and Skin Research Laboratories.

"At LovelySkin, we encourage women to take on leadership roles and develop our talent to allow that to happen. Women comprise over 75% of our leadership team, and we are so proud of that,” Nancy says. “At our recent leadership meeting, we saw how powerful that can be, but we are always looking for unique ways to advance women in our organization. Women share a strong voice here and continue to work toward a shared goal of doing what is best for our customers.”

Women also make up 71% of the workforce here at LovelyGroup, which includes LovelySkin, the LovelySkin Spa, Schlessinger MD, Olive & Delmar and the Cosmetic Surgery Forum.

2. Get involved with an organization that empowers women and girls

One great way to support women today is to get involved in an organization that is working to advance and empower the women of tomorrow. National organizations such as Girls Who Code and She Should Run exist to bring more women into male-dominated fields, such as software engineering and politics, respectively.

Chances are you also have local organizations in your own community that are working to empower women through education and activism as well. Look for an organization that matches your skill set and interests and see if you can volunteer. Whether the time you have to share for volunteering is large or small, your time and talents will make an impact that will last beyond International Women’s Day 2023.

If it makes sense for your budget, you can also consider supporting it with a monetary donation, or mark your calendar for the next public fundraiser and gather a group of friends and family members to attend.

3. Help a friend one-on-one who might be struggling

What better way to support International Women’s Day than by making an impact close to home? We all have that one friend who has it altogether but is desperately in need of a breather.

Look around in your friend circle and think about who might need some help but would never think to ask for it. Offer to take her out for coffee and give her the space to open up about challenges she’s been facing lately, or you can always just catch up on quality time together.

What’s her to-do list look like, and which task might be easier—and more fun—to tackle with the support of a good friend? Give her a chance to lean on you or simply drop by with a blank check of your time and see what you can accomplish together.

4. Mentor a woman in your field

No matter where you’re at in your career, you have the opportunity to support women by sharing your expertise and experience. Seek out an informal mentorship relationship by offering to take a fellow woman in your field out for coffee every month. During that time, you can talk about her goals and share your experiences for how you’ve navigated your career moves thus far. If you see the potential for a formal mentorship program at your workplace, consider reaching out to your human resources department to see if there’s potential interest in matching new hires with seasoned employees for ongoing mentoring opportunities.

If you prefer a more open approach, look for opportunities to elevate other women's voices in the workplace on a daily basis. This can be as simple as refocusing the conversation if your coworker is interrupted in a meeting and allowing her to finish her thoughts.

5. Be the woman you needed when you were younger

Did you need a supportive mom friend when you were pregnant? Did you feel out of place when you first started at your job? With just a small amount of effort, you can support women who are going through an experience you’ve been through before.

It could be as simple as sending an email or text to reconnect with a mom-to-be who you’ve been out of touch with or smiling and introducing yourself to a new hire or intern at work. There are countless ways throughout the day to spread joy and support if you take the time to seek them out.

6. Carve out some me time and reconnect with yourself

The most important woman in your life is yourself, so make sure you are taking care of you! We're so often surrounded by other people's voices and needs we forget to focus on our own. Take some time to reconnect with yourself and figure out what you need to thrive.

What that me time entails will look different depending on your own needs and interests. If you’re craving quiet, set aside some time to wander the aisles of a library or reconnect with nature during a solo walk through a forest preserve. If it’s a workout that fills your cup, make the call to sign up for a yoga class or try that new HIIT class in town. Remember, it’s never too late to reinvest in a passion or hobby you enjoy but have let fall by the wayside.

Setting aside some time to dedicate to you and only you is a great way to end International Women’s Day 2023 feeling fulfilled.

Now that you’re set with ideas on how to celebrate International Women’s Day, you can learn more about women-run brands carried at LovelySkin, including jane iredale, Jan Marini and more.