Today is International Women’s Day across the globe. While every day should be International Women’s Day, March 8 is a note-worthy day where we can shine a spotlight on the trailblazing women in both our personal lives and the public sphere. It’s a time to celebrate the women who are chasing their dreams while acknowledging that all women should have the opportunity to do the same.
There are a number of female founders who are shaking things up with their unique ideas and fresh perspectives, navigating the business world while still staying true to themselves. These women continue to inspire me every day, proving once and for all that business isn’t a domain that should be reserved for men.
International Women’s Day is a day to amplify the voices and businesses of the women around us. On that note, here are three game-changing female founders doing inspiring things.
Naomi Watts
Founder: Stripes
Late last year, actress and businesswoman Naomi Watts founded Stripes: a beauty and wellness brand for women experiencing menopause. “Women spend half their life in menopause, yet the industry ignores our needs and women suffer in silence,” Naomi says.
Naomi founded Stripes to both spark conversations around menopause and support women through these years. "Stripes came about because it was very much reflecting my own story of feeling a bit frustrated and alone during this period of time, which was around my early 40s just after I had kids," Watts told Harper’s BAZAAR.
Ronni Kahn
Founder: OzHarvest
In 2004, Ronni Kahn founded food rescue charity OzHarvest. After running a successful events company, she became all too aware of the huge volumes of leftover food thrown away each day by hospitality businesses—so she decided to do something about it. For the past 19 years, OzHarvest has been hand-delivering untouched food to homeless shelters around Australia. So far, that equals 225 million meals… and counting.
Maeva Heim
Founder: BREAD Beauty Supply
When Maeva Heim couldn’t find a brand that catered to—and celebrated—textured hair types, she decided to create on herself.
After growing up in Perth, Australia, Maeva went to the US in 2019, where she was part of the prestigious Sephora Accelerate brand incubation program, that helps get up-and-coming businesses off the ground. She then went on to launch BREAD on a global scale: a haircare brand made with curly, textured hair in mind.
“I’d really love for Australian hair culture to move towards not just greater ‘acceptance’, but a greater celebration of different hair cultures and styles,” Maeva told Refinery29. “BREAD is a tiny part of that puzzle.”