At FOUND by Flynn we celebrate women every day. We curate products that will make your lives that little bit easier, but International Women's Day is the ultimate celebration for women everywhere. It's a day where the whole world recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women on the 8th March every year.
We have put together 13 activities below to enjoy with your family this International Women's Day. Celebrate the women in your lives, teach your kids about equality and empowerment, or just have some educational fun!
1. Celebratory Family Dinner
Create a special dinner to mark the occasion. It's a significant day to celebrate with the whole family and it's also an opportunity to talk about empowerment and equality with your kids.
We love this quotation by Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Girls Who Code: 'Tell every young woman you know to be comfortable with imperfection'. This mantra is equally important to tell young boys. Resilience is so important.
International Women's Day is an opportunity for families to talk with both girls and boys about appreciating diversity, being welcoming when playing together, kindness and respecting all genders.
2. Watch a girl power film
There are many films featuring strong female characters who can be inspiring role models for children.
Depending on your child's age, some to add to your watch list may include Matilda, Brave, Little Women, Mulan, Tangled, Frozen, Anne of Green Gables, Wizard of Oz, Tottoro, Lilo & Stitch, Mary Poppins, Bend it Like Beckham.
And for grownups, we highly recommend Hidden Figures, the story of the female NASA mathematicians who were the brains behind one of the greatest achievements in space history.
3. Read biographies of famous women
FOUND By Flynn have sourced a range of books called 'Little People Big Dreams' that are ideal for International Women's Day. Discover the lives of outstanding people from designers and artists to scientists. All of them went on to achieve incredible things, yet all of them began life as a little child with a dream.
Each biography comes with extra facts about the person's life at the back.
We also recommend a book 'If I were Prime Minister.' What would your kids do if they were Prime Minster?
Or Mary Wears What She Wants, inspired by the true story of Mary Edwards Walker, a trailblazing doctor who was arrested many times for wearing pants, this fresh, charming picture book encourages readers to think for themselves while gently challenging gender and societal norms.
View our International Women's Day book collection for kids.
4. Donate to a cause that supports women
Start an annual tradition where every IWD, your children are given some money to donate to a charity of their choice that supports women or women's issues. This is a practical and fun way to teach your kids about compassion, the importance of helping others, understanding the problems many women face, learn about money and give them the responsibility to select a worthy charity.
There are many to choose from, such as Share the Dignity or Microloan Foundation Australia. See a list of another twenty other potential charities here and there are many more.
5. Do something kind for a woman you love
Hopefully there are some Dads reading this. You could encourage your kids to do something kind for Mum, their sisters or other female influencers in their lives.
Spend time with Grandma, Aunts, or other close female family & friends. Visit them in person, or Facetime them if they live a long distance away.
You could encourage your kids to make a card. Or send flowers, give a small gift, or take them out to a movie.
Whatever you do, make their day special and wish them 'Happy International Women's Day!'
6. Draw your favourite female in history or hero
This is a fun, creative and educational activity. Ask your kids to draw their female hero, favourite woman in history, or a female who inspires them.
This may be tricky for younger kids, but if they draw Mum or Grandma, that's totally fine and beautiful! For older children, this is an educational exercise in history. They can draw inspiration from books, TV, movies or research famous women on the internet.
Ask them why they chose the person and write that underneath the picture. To download a free worksheet, click here. (Credit: AlphaMom)
7. Make International Women's Day themed food
Make anything purple - the colour for International Women's Day, eg purple icing on cupcakes, purple drinks, purple icecreams.
Use girl-shaped cookie cutters to make cookies or sandwiches.
Bake a cake or cookies with International Women's Day wording or affirmations eg, 'Be Brave' 'Shine Bright' 'Inspire Others' 'Dream Big'.
Make dishes that are named after famous women eg, Peach Melba (Dame Nellie Melba), Margherita Pizza (Queen Margherita), Pavlova (Anna Pavlova - ballerina) or make your own and name it after someone inspirational!
8. Decorate your house or child's room
Get busy with purple decorations around the house!
There are blank poster templates on the International Women's Day website. So you and your kids can make your own posters.
In your child's room you could add posters of famous women and inspirational quotations. I'm sure the unicorns and fairies won't mind having company!
9. Flower Craft
We saw this idea on another website. Thanks Princessliya.com! They suggest creating an 'Every Woman Is...' flower, with each petal representing a female characteristic eg, strong, smart, etc.
This activity helps to build vocabulary as well as cognition by thinking about different personality traits.
You can have your child make a flower that represents themselves or they can pick a special female in their lives.
10. Read about the UN EU's theme DigitALL, the UN AU's theme Cracking The Code, or take an #EmbraceEquity #IWD2023 Family Photo or Selfie
There are a number of themes in circulation this year, but the underlying message across all of them is that the world needs change.
The UN in Europe's theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. The EU seeks to ensure women's equal access to the untapped potential of digital technologies. See some interesting statistics on the UN Women's website.
UN Women Australia’s International Women’s Day theme for 2023 is ‘Cracking the Code: Innovation for a gender equal future’. View events and download the key messages via the link.
The International Women's Day website, is promoting 'Embrace Equity' and encouraging people to take a selfie hugging themselves to show support for IWD.
Download selfie cards or write your own to hold, detailing words of support. Post your photo with the hashtags #IWD2023 #EmbraceEquity and don't forget to tag us! @found_by_flynn
11. Wear Purple
The colour purple symbolises women, according to the international Women's Day website. It represents justice and dignity.
So have your kids wear their purple clothes and make a statement.
12. Listen to music by female composers
Listen to and support Australian, female singers and songwriters. They are too numerous to mention, but some of the most famous include Katie Noonan, Kate Miller-Heidke, Delta Goodrem, Sia, Missy Higgins, Sarah Blasko.
We have so many female composers in Australia, yet most people cannot recall their names. This International Women's Day, introduce your children to some Australian classical music composers, such as Elena Kats-Chernin. Listen to her music on Spotify such as Lullaby for Nick, and Little Green Road to Fairyland.
Another Australian classical music composer is Corrina Bonshek. View her video below As Small Birds Play.
13. Support A Woman-Owned Business
There is still a tendency towards male-owned businesses, particularly in professional services such as accounting, law or medicine. Let's get behind female-run businesses.
Why not take your kids on IWD for lunch at a business owned by women, support a female-owned store in the area, or buy something from a woman-owned online business, such as ours! Read more about FOUND By Flynn's founders, Nic and Cindi.
FOUND By Flynn is owned and managed by two women who are Mums and childcare professionals. We select products from small businesses, designed in Australia. Most of the products we stock are owned and designed by women.
So if you're looking for a woman-owned business or businesses to support, you've come to the right place. Welcome!
FOUND by Flynn wishes all wonderful women out there a happy International Women's Day!
A particular salute to Mums (the CEOs of the household) and any women fighting causes to make the world a better place - the environment, poverty, freedom, children's rights, women's rights, health & medicine, endangered animals & animal rights, education & literacy, youth issues, disability services, mental health, aged care, scientific research and more. Happy IWD2023!
Who, or what is FOUND by Flynn?FOUND by Flynn is an online service that aims to bring to the world a selection of unique, high-quality, kids products by Australian designers. Founded by early childhood education professionals and mums, Nicole Campbell and Cindi Pereira. We source and only select kidswear, toys and accessories by Australian small businesses who exhibit the following essential values:
Contact us with any questions or browse our full collection here.
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