More than 900 people have signed an open letter to the owners of internationalwomensday.com, accusing them of exploiting the International Women’s Day movement for financial gain. The letter, written by two UK-based professionals, demands that the website “contribute meaningfully” or step aside.
The site, run by a London-based marketing firm owned by Glenda Slingsby, has been widely mistaken by British brands as being linked to the UN-recognised celebration. The UN has distanced itself from the website, which annually puts forward its own theme — this year “Give to Gain” — separate from the UN’s official theme.
Belinda Jane Batt, one of the letter’s authors, said the website’s campaigns have caused confusion and diluted the day’s message. She criticised the site for “turning the entire movement into meaningless marketing” that does not advance women’s rights. Businesses such as Sainsbury’s, Barclays, and the University of Warwick have used the website’s themes as if they were official.
In response, the website’s owners have stated that “no one owns the movement” and that their site is “one of many groups that now mark the day”. The site sells merchandise and has partnered with major firms including BP and Ernst & Young. Mo Kanjilal, a diversity consultant who signed the letter, described this year’s theme as “vacuous” and inappropriate given serious women’s rights issues globally.
Batt called for greater transparency about where the site’s profits go, asking: “Where is all that money going? Is any of it going to causes that are for women, for women’s advancement?”
