International Women's Day (IWD) is a time to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political successes of women across the globe. Unfortunately, it has also become an opportunity for brands to hop on the bandwagon of corporate feminism. From pinkwashing to performative branding, IWD has largely become a marketing opportunity, rather than a celebration of women, but all hope may not be lost.
Fixing the IWD branding issue isn't as easy as shifting your marketing approach – it's a matter that feeds into the very structure of the industry. To discover more, I caught up with Sunny Bonnell, co-founder and CEO of Motto®and author of Rare Breed, to discuss how brands can create more authentic and purposeful campaigns that stretch beyond IWD.
What is pinkwashing, and how has it developed over the years?
Pinkwashing refers to the practice of brands publicly signalling support for women’s empowerment while doing little to meaningfully support women through their business practices, leadership structures, or supply chains.
In earlier years, it was fairly literal. A product turned pink. A campaign appeared in March. A small donation was mentioned in the fine print. The gesture was mostly symbolic. What has changed is that audiences have become far more fluent in reading brand behaviour.
Consumers now look at the full ecosystem of a company. Who leads it. How women are paid. How parental leave works. Who gets promoted. What the company funds year-round. A single campaign celebrating women cannot outweigh the signals people see in a company’s everyday decisions. The public has become much more skilled at connecting the dots between what a company says and how it actually operates.
What makes an IWD campaign feel performative?
Performative campaigns usually reveal themselves through a lack of depth. You see a brand adopt the visual language of empowerment but avoid the substance. The message celebrates women in broad terms but never acknowledges the structural barriers women face in workplaces, industries, or leadership pipelines.
Timing is another signal. If the conversation appears in March and disappears for the remaining eleven months, audiences recognise that the effort is seasonal. The campaigns that resonate most tend to reflect work that is already happening inside the company. When creative storytelling aligns with real policies, leadership accountability, or investment in women, the message feels grounded rather than performative.
What IWD branding tropes are you most tired of seeing?
Many of the visual tropes repeat year after year. There is the predictable palette of pink gradients. Stock imagery of women cheering each other on. Vague language about empowerment that never defines what empowerment actually looks like.
Another pattern is reducing the conversation to inspiration. Women are presented as symbols of strength and resilience, but the structural realities that shape women’s careers are rarely addressed. The irony is that audiences have become far more sophisticated than brands assume. Women do not need another inspirational slogan. They want evidence that companies understand the real conditions shaping women’s work and lives.
How can brands build authenticity in their IWD campaigns?
Authenticity begins long before the campaign itself. The most credible brands start by asking internal questions. What percentage of leadership roles are held by women? Are compensation structures equitable? What policies are designed with modern families in mind? What barriers still exist inside the organisation?
When those questions are addressed, the campaign becomes a reflection of progress rather than a substitute for it. Another powerful approach is to spotlight the work women are actually doing within the company or community. Real stories tend to resonate far more than abstract messaging. They allow the campaign to connect with lived experience rather than aspiration.
How can brands ensure their IWD campaigns are truly intersectional?
Intersectionality requires brands to move beyond a single narrative of womanhood. Women’s experiences are shaped by race, class, geography, disability, and culture. A campaign that centres on only one perspective inevitably leaves many women invisible.
Practically speaking, this means broadening who participates in shaping the campaign. When creative teams, leadership voices, and featured stories represent a wider range of lived experiences, the work becomes more nuanced and more credible. It also requires humility. Brands do not need to claim authority over every issue affecting women. Sometimes the most meaningful role a company can play is to elevate voices and organisations already doing the work.
How would you like to see IWD campaigns improve in the next few years?
The next evolution of International Women’s Day campaigns should move beyond celebration toward accountability. Celebrating women’s achievements will always matter. But audiences increasingly want transparency about progress and where companies still have work to do.
The most interesting shift would be tying campaigns to year-round initiatives. Leadership development programs. Funding for women founders. Mentorship pipelines. Commitments that extend well beyond a single campaign cycle. When International Women’s Day becomes a checkpoint rather than a marketing moment, the creative work carries more weight. It signals that the message reflects real change rather than a temporary spotlight.
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