Celebrating the women who inspire us

International Women's Day - March 8th 2025

Today is a time to recognise the incredible women who shape our lives - those who support, challenge, and inspire us to be better. While history is filled with trailblazing women, often the most profound impact comes from the ones closest to us: our friends, family, mentors, and colleagues.

From the first bosses who pushed us to grow, to the friends who turn challenges into opportunities, to the mothers and grandmothers who paved the way for future generations - these women are everyday feminists, quietly yet powerfully changing the world around them.

This year, we’re celebrating the women who have made us who we are. The ones who lead with strength, kindness, and determination. The ones who taught us resilience, whether through career challenges, personal struggles, or simply by living boldly and authentically.

Here’s to the women who inspire us - may we continue to learn from them, support each other, and carry their legacy forward.

Andrea - Women are the future of tech!

Only about 27.5% of the global tech industry is made up of women, and the number is even lower for leadership roles - just 12.5%, which is absolutely wild! Technology is my passion, and I love everything about it, but the person who truly inspires me in this field is my good friend Dora - she's absolutely crushing it in data science!

Dora and I worked together back in the day, she constantly encouraged me to explore new technologies - and she still does. Whether we are catching up over cocktails or meeting at Web Summit, we always end up spending hours talking about tech, with a bit of business mixed in.

She is the co-founder of Braidr, an innovative data and AI company, and Luminr, a cutting-edge search intelligence platform. It’s truly inspiring to see what she has built, from developing the technology behind these platforms to leading the business. Her ability to effortlessly balance both the technical and business sides of her ventures is remarkable, turning visionary ideas into thriving, forward-looking companies.

We need more women in tech! It’s a fast-paced, dynamic industry that’s both exciting and inspiring. There’s so much to learn, create, and innovate, and we need more brilliant minds to help shape the future.

Amy - Celebrating Rachel: An inspiring woman in my life

I’m nominating my friend Rachel for International Women’s Day as one of the women in my life who inspires me.

I lived with Rachel at uni, where we binge-watched Sex and the City and would walk to the shops in our PJs to stock up on Wispa Golds. However, since then, after undergoing a hysterectomy in her early 30s, Rachel has set up Our Remedy, a natural remedy business.

After discovering a lack of information and natural treatments to support her, she decided to create her own company and blog - both entirely focused on women’s health, sustainability, and self-care. I find it incredible that she not only built her own business but did so in an industry completely unrelated to what we studied at university.

Even more impressively, her products will soon be available on the shelves at Boots! And she manages all of this while looking after her seven-year-old—and still finding time to join in on bottomless brunches at the weekend!

She’s amazing!

Katie - The women who shaped my career

When we started talking about International Women’s Day in the office, my first thought wasn’t of a historical figure, a pioneering scientist, or even Beyoncé. Instead, I thought of the women who have shaped my career - the ones who taught me, challenged me, and ultimately helped me become the marketer I am today.

In my first ‘proper’ corporate marketing job, I was lucky enough to work under three strong, talented women leading the department. I always knew I wanted to work in marketing, but that job was a real rite of passage.

My organisational skills were tested daily as I learned to juggle a million spinning plates. The dreaded red pen would appear on almost everything I wrote, and I would freeze whenever I had to speak in a meeting. There were moments of sheer panic - like the gut-wrenching fear of a spelling mistake going to print or the embarrassment of missing an important detail in an ‘all-company’ email.

Looking back 20 years on, I can see that the fast-paced environment, high expectations, and tough love were exactly what I needed. They didn’t just make me a better marketer; they made me resilient, detail-oriented, and confident in my abilities.

Since then, I’ve had the privilege of hiring, managing, and working alongside so many incredible women in marketing. Some of them I still cheer on from the sidelines as they take on new roles, launch campaigns, and make their mark on the industry.

This International Women’s Day, I’m grateful for those early lessons, the women who pushed me to be better, and the ones I now get to support in their own careers. Because behind every great marketer, there’s a team of strong, inspiring people who helped them get there!

Marianne - Honouring the women who shaped me

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the women I hold dear: my mother, grandmother, and mother-in-law. These incredible women have shaped me into the person I am today.

Traditionally, Irish society has been influenced by male-dominated structures, with women primarily expected to focus on family life. Growing up in 1980s Ireland, I owe so much to the women who came of age in the 1950s and 1960s. These remarkable women faced the marriage bar, which restricted working women, and encountered social and legal limitations on their rights and freedoms. They navigated these challenges under the oppressive influence of the church, which further curtailed opportunities for women.

Through it all, they challenged the status quo and became my guides and support system throughout my life. My lovely mother retrained and returned to work in her 50s after dedicating over 20 years to raising four children. My grandmother was a meticulous family historian, preserving generations of our family’s stories. My wonderful mother-in-law had an infectious give it a go attitude - seeing the good in everyone and embracing adventure. Whether it was skinny dipping, climbing trees, or kayaking well into her eighties, she approached life with an inspiring sense of curiosity and joy.

I am forever grateful for their guidance in helping me navigate life’s ups and downs.

Here’s to resilient, everyday feminists - may we embody their strength in everything we do.

Learning, growing, and lifting others

As we celebrate International Women’s Day, let’s take a moment to appreciate the women who have helped us grow, push boundaries, and believe in ourselves. Their influence lives on in the way we lead, support, and uplift others.

Here’s to the women who inspire us every day, may we continue to learn from them, and pass their knowledge forward.