International Women’s Day is very popular in Poland, especially due to its historical background. Women’s Day was very popular and much celebrated during the time of the Polish People’s Republic and in the 70s, women were always given flowers, carnations or tulips, and other goods that were not so easy to get during the communist period, such as tights, towels, coffee or even soap. It may seem hilarious looking back now but that was the reality of the past. Therefore, until today, International Women’s Day is greatly celebrated, flowers are given out on the streets, in shops etc. It is currently also connected to the feminist movement and there are a lot of demonstrations taking place in many cities of Poland. Since IT is mostly a male-dominated industry, we are always looking forward to our colleagues’ creativity on International Women’s Day. They never let us down and women always get flowers or gifts. I do feel it is nice to have and to celebrate women all over the world. However, women and men should be equally celebrated, recognized and respected each day, every day. The celebrations of mutual recognition should not be left to one day in the year only.
In Belgium, we celebrate it since 1972, we even celebrate it twice: Women’s Day on the 11th of November and International Women’s Day on the 8th of March. Bechtle Belgium gives the female colleagues a surprise on the 8th of March; we already received in the past years chocolates and funny socks. Curious to find out what we can expect this year! I think it is important that we have a day like this. In the past, women had to fight for their rights and in some countries women still have fewer rights than men. It is a good thing that we are moving towards a society in which men and women are treated equally.
I spend a few years of my life in the east of Germany, in Jena. My former boss gave roses to all his female employees. Furthermore in the supermarket, at the optician, at the bakery I got flowers or little gifts– it felt like there were flowers all over the city. And of course, I hugged all my female friends and we wished each other “Happy Women’s Day”. In the evening, when I picked up my children from day care, I was already excited for the best part of the day: They surprised me with home-made gifts and a kiss. When we wandered back home, I was tired because of all the hugging and loaded with little gifts. When I moved to the Heilbronn area, I went home empty-handed on Women’s Day. The kids still brought home their handy-crafts from Kindergarten, but these were given on Mother's Day instead. But times are changing. For the past three or four years, my smartphone has been beeping regularly on March 8th, and I've been enjoying WhatsApp and social media messages with colourful virtual greetings and funny memes from all over Germany. This week there are posters in Jena with the slogan: "More rights instead of roses."
In Italy, International Women’s Day is a big occasion for women. Over here, the day is pretty consolidated. It is a good day to go out with the girls and talk about personal and career goals and issues. The IT field in general is more or less dominated by men, so it is important that we celebrate our success with them. We will spend the day together at the office and go out for a celebration dinner. In Italy, it is a tradition to give flowers called Mimosas to every woman for International Women’s Day. Mimosas are strong, wild plants with yellow flowers and can grow pretty much anywhere, therefore they are the perfect representation for us women. To me, International Women’s Day is an opportunity to highlight the great things women do.
Noemi Parau, Bechtle Italy
We are celebrating International Women’s day in Hungary. Many people toast their friends, partners, colleagues, and women in their families. We stand strong in many parts of everyday life and it's a special way to acknowledge single mothers, hard-working professionals, dedicated wives and of course the future generation of girls who are constantly breaking down everyday preconceptions about what it really means to be a woman in the 21st century. It's a great opportunity to recognize important women in our lives and in history and to celebrate their accomplishments and everyday bravery. At Bechtle Hungary, our managing director, and colleagues surprise us with flowers and we bring some tasty cakes and sweets to rejoice.
International Women's Day is celebrated in Austria in different forms - from no celebration to a day similar to Valentine's Day or Mother's Day. In shopping centres or public places, flowers or small sweets are often distributed to women. Museums offer free or discounted admission in some cases, and women's theme days are always integrated into the programme on television on the occasion of this day. Politicians use this day, for example, to draw attention to the imbalance between men and women or to launch campaigns for women. Personally, I do not celebrate this day, but I think it is good that there is a day when women's issues are discussed.
I think that both men and women know the date in France. We hear a lot about it in advertisements, at the shop, in the newspaper or on TV. But I don’t believe that people have parties or special events, at least my friends don’t. We aren’t really celebrating this day in the office but we have a little tradition: Patrick Gorlier, our Partner Channel Manager from Dell, offers all the women of Bechtle France a white rose. Everyone knows and expects Patrick’s rose on March 8th. From my point of view, it is not the day itself that is important, it’s what it represents. In France, this day is called ‘the day of women’s rights’, highlighting the fight for women’s rights and especially the reduction of inequalities. Women fought in the past to improve our position, for example Simone Weil and her law legalizing induced abortion or Marie Curie, the first woman to receive a Nobel Prize. I recently discovered the first woman who had participated in the Boston marathon: Katherine Switzer. In 1967, at 20 years, she became the first woman officially registered for this legendary race. At that time, it was only open for men. She had registered under the name of K.V. Switzer. There are so many examples of great women and International Women’s Day is a good way to remember them. However, we must continue to reduce some of the inequalities that persist and we must do it all year long. It’s the skills that matter, not the gender.
