Happy International Women's Day
Happy International Women's Day! Today we celebrate women and highlight those we love while speaking up to make a change for women all around the globe. So, it is time to set your Facebook profile picture with the official filters and stand proud to be a woman but it in reality we know it means more than that. In honor of today, we did some research and thought about what IWD means for women of color.
So what exactly is International Women's Day? According to the official website, International Women's Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Basically, everything Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie spoke about in her Ted Talk.
This year's campaign theme is to #PressOn and it is a theme we can relate to all too well as women of color in the beauty industry. We continuously, "press on." The reality is that we are not only facing gender parity. We face racism and sexism all in the same breath but what do we do? We press on!
When it comes to beauty products we have been consistently missed or purposely excluded although the proof is literally in the pudding when it comes to the buying power of women of color. Still, we've pressed on and made due with what we have. Mixing foundation colors, spending hours finding the perfect nude, praying for the electric blue eyeshadow with enough pigment to show on our skin. It's a struggle but still we press on!
Pioneers like the founders of Danessa Myrics Beauty, Hue Noir and Gold Label Cosmetics have pressed on to create their beauty brands to make a space for women of color in the beauty industry. While on the surface it solves the issue of not being able to find the perfect shade of foundation it is so much deeper than that.
Pressing on for these brands gives women of color a space in the beauty industry. It says that women of color are worth catering to because all women are beautiful. It is also empowering to be able to support a women in business and press on to close the gender wage gap. Most importantly, this is for us and by us which speaks volumes and why Marjani Beauty loves to showcase indie brands by people of color who understand the narrative of a person of color in the beauty industry.
Today, don't just share an Instagram post. Support another woman and tell her to press on. Support her business or mission and if you can't support with dollars at least give her the motivation to move forward. Tell her she is beautiful in a world that does not value her. Say thank you to a woman who has helped you to press on! When we move as a unit we get so much more accomplished.
Happy International Women's Day from Marjani Beauty.