Celebrating International Women’s Day in Hospitality – 8th March
Use International Women’s Day on 8th March to celebrate staff, customers and community – in 2025, it’s on a Saturday. Here are simple ways to mark the occasion and show you care – this is marketing with a heart. Women represent at least half of your business – promoting International Women’s Day in restaurants and cafes can be a wonderful, happy occasion.
Make it a week, not just a day: there’s so much to talk about in the lead-up to 8th March! Start planning six weeks ahead to give time for collecting stories, taking photos and briefing staff. Here’s how to make the most of this important week:
Feature the women who work for you – gather everyone for a group photo and give special mention to your long-time workers. Share their career journeys and development stories. Social media loves these personal stories, so post them across your platforms. Your customers, plus their family and friends, will share them. Keep the ‘stories’ short so they’re easy to write – just two or three sentences is enough – how they got into hospitality, their favourite food, and what unique strengths women bring to hospitality work.
Talk about women who inspire your staff: Kate looks up to Poh Ling Yeow from Masterchef Australia, and the chef/entrepreneur Nigella Lawson. Jan, the floor manager, loves how singer Adele handles challenges, and Terri is a big fan of Matilda’s soccer star, Sam Kerr. Get your team talking about their heroes – each post with a photo of the staff member or their inspiration creates engaging content.
Ask staff to share ‘About My Mother’ stories: these posts touch hearts. You just need a photo of a staff member with their mum or grandmother and one sentence about what makes their relationship unique. Start collecting these a few weeks ahead – the results can be moving.
Share food stories that matter: bring out favourite recipes from mothers and grandmothers. ‘Nanna food’ still draws crowds. Create a special dessert or cake based on a family memory or recipe, complete with story cards about whose mother or grandmother created it. Your regular customers can pre-order these weeks ahead.
Connect with women in wine: dedicate a week to female winemakers. Train your staff on their stories – customers love hearing about the people behind their beverages. Create simple wine cards telling the maker’s story and offer special tastings of their wines.
Build local business connections: partner with women-owned suppliers and producers. Display their products prominently with story cards. From coffee roasters to local farmers, sharing these connections strengthens your community ties and supports other women in food. Talk to your local council and find out what they’re doing – chances are they’d love to highlight your activities. See also Profitable Networking for Cafe and Restaurant Owners.
For the week, support a women’s cause: pick a local women’s shelter, a creative or sports activity, or an overseas aid project. Find information and photos about their work on their websites. Tell your newsletter readers how they can help beyond just dining with you. See also How to Make Restaurant Community Sponsorship Work for Everyone.
Use social media throughout the week: – Monday: Introduce your female leaders – Tuesday: Tell supplier stories – Wednesday: Share staff and mother photos – Thursday: Post customer stories – Friday: Announce your weekend specials – Weekend: Show your celebrations in action
Put your newsletter to work – feature ‘Women Who Built Our Business’ stories about long-term staff members. Include photos from their early days alongside current shots. Share your own story about a female mentor who shaped your business approach.
Push conversations with your team: get staff thinking about gender and harassment issues – these discussions should include everyone. For example, why aren’t there more women in management roles in hospitality? How do women manage differently from men? Which part of marketing has connected most strongly with women? These might initially feel uncomfortable, but essential changes grow from talking openly. The Foodie Coaches Anti-Harassment Kit has valuable resources for some of these conversations.
Hold a special lunch or dinner: work with local community groups who can raise funds through ticket sales. Find an inspiring speaker and showcase your women chefs’ work. Share pictures in a Facebook album the next day. You might start a regular tradition.
Document and photograph everything: today’s photos and stories become next year’s promotional content. Focusing on real celebrations rather than just sales will build lasting relationships with customers and staff while naturally drawing positive attention to your business.
Learn and share the history of International Women’s Day – the story inspires everyone who hears it. And remember, this celebration can spark connections far beyond March 8th.
Use International Women’s Day on 8th March to celebrate staff, customers and community – in 2025, it’s on a Saturday. Here are simple ways to mark the occasion and show you care – this is marketing with a heart. Women represent at least half of your business – promoting International Women’s Day in restaurants and cafes can be a wonderful, happy occasion.
Make it a week, not just a day: there’s so much to talk about in the lead-up to 8th March! Start planning six weeks ahead to give time for collecting stories, taking photos and briefing staff. Here’s how to make the most of this important week:
Feature the women who work for you – gather everyone for a group photo and give special mention to your long-time workers. Share their career journeys and development stories. Social media loves these personal stories, so post them across your platforms. Your customers, plus their family and friends, will share them. Keep the ‘stories’ short so they’re easy to write – just two or three sentences is enough – how they got into hospitality, their favourite food, and what unique strengths women bring to hospitality work.
Talk about women who inspire your staff: Kate looks up to Poh Ling Yeow from Masterchef Australia, and the chef/entrepreneur Nigella Lawson. Jan, the floor manager, loves how singer Adele handles challenges, and Terri is a big fan of Matilda’s soccer star, Sam Kerr. Get your team talking about their heroes – each post with a photo of the staff member or their inspiration creates engaging content.
Ask staff to share ‘About My Mother’ stories: these posts touch hearts. You just need a photo of a staff member with their mum or grandmother and one sentence about what makes their relationship unique. Start collecting these a few weeks ahead – the results can be moving.
Share food stories that matter: bring out favourite recipes from mothers and grandmothers. ‘Nanna food’ still draws crowds. Create a special dessert or cake based on a family memory or recipe, complete with story cards about whose mother or grandmother created it. Your regular customers can pre-order these weeks ahead.
Connect with women in wine: dedicate a week to female winemakers. Train your staff on their stories – customers love hearing about the people behind their beverages. Create simple wine cards telling the maker’s story and offer special tastings of their wines.
Build local business connections: partner with women-owned suppliers and producers. Display their products prominently with story cards. From coffee roasters to local farmers, sharing these connections strengthens your community ties and supports other women in food. Talk to your local council and find out what they’re doing – chances are they’d love to highlight your activities. See also Profitable Networking for Cafe and Restaurant Owners.
For the week, support a women’s cause: pick a local women’s shelter, a creative or sports activity, or an overseas aid project. Find information and photos about their work on their websites. Tell your newsletter readers how they can help beyond just dining with you. See also How to Make Restaurant Community Sponsorship Work for Everyone.
Use social media throughout the week:
– Monday: Introduce your female leaders
– Tuesday: Tell supplier stories
– Wednesday: Share staff and mother photos
– Thursday: Post customer stories
– Friday: Announce your weekend specials
– Weekend: Show your celebrations in action
Put your newsletter to work – feature ‘Women Who Built Our Business’ stories about long-term staff members. Include photos from their early days alongside current shots. Share your own story about a female mentor who shaped your business approach.
Push conversations with your team: get staff thinking about gender and harassment issues – these discussions should include everyone. For example, why aren’t there more women in management roles in hospitality? How do women manage differently from men? Which part of marketing has connected most strongly with women? These might initially feel uncomfortable, but essential changes grow from talking openly. The Foodie Coaches Anti-Harassment Kit has valuable resources for some of these conversations.
Hold a special lunch or dinner: work with local community groups who can raise funds through ticket sales. Find an inspiring speaker and showcase your women chefs’ work. Share pictures in a Facebook album the next day. You might start a regular tradition.
Document and photograph everything: today’s photos and stories become next year’s promotional content. Focusing on real celebrations rather than just sales will build lasting relationships with customers and staff while naturally drawing positive attention to your business.
Learn and share the history of International Women’s Day – the story inspires everyone who hears it. And remember, this celebration can spark connections far beyond March 8th.
Check the other useful blog posts on the Foodie Coaches website…
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