International Women’s Day: Give to Gain and the aspiration of the UK to build a community-based covenant

‘We won’t do this as nostalgia. We’ll do it as a reminder that the future isn’t something we wait for; it’s something we shape’

As my friends and partners have said over the years, “we look forward to you, Ren, kicking off IWD with the history and the yearly relevant theme.” I take that as both a compliment and a responsibility, because International Women’s Day has a way of bringing key (and sometimes uncomfortable) truths into sharp focus.

This year’s theme is “Give To Gain” and it feels profoundly relevant to the world we’re living in right now.

Many of you will remember when I first put pen to paper on an IWD blog, we were at the start of COVID living through uncertainty that felt like a natural crisis. Now, we’re living with the ongoing threat of human-made conflict and wider instability. Different context, same underlying question: what do we choose to give, and what kind of future do we gain as a result?

And yes, giving should be unconditional. But it’s also true that when we give wisely and consistently (time, belief, access, opportunity, sponsorship, visibility, mentorship), we create momentum that lifts more than one person. “Give To Gain” is not transactional; it’s a philosophy of progress.

 

The origins of IWD: a movement built on collective courage

International Women’s Day did not begin as a marketing moment. It began as a shared act of conviction.

In 1910, at the International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, a woman named Clara Zetkin, Leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, proposed that every country should hold an annual Women’s Day on the same day, to press demands for women’s rights. Over 100 women from 17 countries unanimously agreed, and the idea of IWD was born.

The following year, IWD was honoured for the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland on 19 March, with over a million women and men attending rallies calling for the right to work, vote, be trained, hold public office, and end discrimination.

Those early milestones matter because they remind us that progress has always required people to give (their voices, their energy, their safety, their time) for gains that would benefit others and reshape society.

 

A global milestone: recognition, rights and peace

In 1975, International Women’s Day reached another landmark when it was celebrated for the first time by the United Nations. In December 1977, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming a UN Day for Women’s Rights and International Peace, to be observed by Member States in line with their own traditions.

So, at its heart, IWD has always carried two messages at once:

• celebration of women’s achievements, and
• action towards equality, rights, and peace.

 

The values that guide us

IWD means different things to different people, but its global focus on equality and celebration is clear and the values behind it are a useful compass for how we show up, especially when the world feels noisy or polarised.

At its heart, International Women’s Day is grounded in principles that matter: justice and dignity, hope and equality, collaboration and tenacity. It asks us to appreciate and respect one another, to lead with empathy, and perhaps most challenging of all, to practise forgiveness.

If “Give To Gain” is our theme, these values are how we live it.

Our Guest Speaker This Year is Claire Kennedy, Founder and Co-CEO, PPL

 

Why Claire Kennedy this year and why the Civil Society Covenant

I’m proud and delighted to confirm Claire Kennedy, Co-Founder and Joint Chief Executive of PPL, as our Keynote Speaker for IWD 2026 joining us at Anglia Ruskin University and Professor Gary Packham.

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Claire over the last five years on empowering females, contributing to research, and providing government recommendations on how we unlock barriers to entry and accelerate communities to prosper. Claire is someone I’ve admired for a long time, not simply for what she and business partner have built, but for how she leads.

She enables progress across society, regardless of demographic, with a deep commitment to social mobility and economic growth, and a belief in a “mosaic approach” that includes health, financial freedom, community spirit, and more. Her career spans political communications, public-sector transformation and, since 2007, co-leading PPL, a social enterprise and B Corp working across the public sector and civil society. Claire also helped create the PPL Hub, a free community space for local charities, and continues to support community work through voluntary roles.

In other words: she embodies “Give To Gain” in the most grounded, practical way.

Which brings me to something we’ll be building on beyond International Women’s Day.

In our recent conversation, Claire described the Civil Society Covenant as a genuine opportunity to redraw the relationship between civil society and government into something structured, practical and strategic, moving us from operating alongside one another to working in a more integrated partnership, grounded in mutual respect and deeper understanding.

That is precisely the spirit of “Give To Gain” at a national level: giving trust, creating space, and designing collaboration properly so society gains stronger communities, better outcomes, and a future that feels more shared than fractured.

What’s this Covenant, I hear you say! The new Covenant aims to strengthen effective partnerships across government and civil society, with practical delivery through the Joint Council and initial task-and-finish work focused on areas like commissioning and local

partnerships. That matters because it takes good intent and asks the harder question: how do we make collaboration and impact real in the everyday systems people experience?

So, at our IWD webinar, we’ll talk to Claire about her take on this year’s theme, how “Give To Gain” connects to community cohesion, and what she sees as most promising about the new Civil Society Covenant and the opportunities it creates for long-term, community-based change.

Because giving should be unconditional, but when we give well (time, opportunity, belief, access, sponsorship), society gains: stronger communities, better outcomes, and a future that feels more shared than fractured.

And I’ll say this openly: Claire is one of the best people in the UK to champion that spirit. She brings the rare combination of strategy, delivery and values-led leadership, building new ways of working that create better outcomes for communities.

 

Finally, Don’t Miss The seven-week build: stories that connect past to present

Over the next seven weeks, we’ll build on this blog and create a steady drumbeat of positive dialogue and thought leadership ahead of our IWD webinar.

Each week, we’ll highlight women from the history files and connect them with modern-day exemplars, women who have given (often quietly, often consistently) and helped others gain opportunity, voice, safety, progress, or belonging.

We won’t do this as nostalgia. We’ll do it as a reminder that the future isn’t something we wait for; it’s something we shape.

Join us: IWD Webinar at ARU

As a Visiting Professor at Anglia Ruskin University, I’ll be hosting an IWD webinar on:

Tuesday 3 March 2026 | 13:00–14:00 (UK) with Keynote: Claire Kennedy (PPL) and Prof Gary Packham.

Register for free here

Together, we’ll unpack:

1. the history and what it asks of us today,
2. the realities women are navigating now, and
3. how a “Give To Gain” mindset can shape a better future practically, not performatively.