Most inspiring Instagram posts on International Women’s Day

For IWD this year, local brand Charles & Keith raised awareness on the importance of female empowerment and gender equality with its campaign: “Beyond Voices”. The movement saw locals such as digital creator Nellie Lim and musician Aarika Lee pledge to support the #EachForEqual campaign with portraits of themselves with the #EachForEqual pose.

The campaign touched other parts of the globe too, with Lizzy Van Der Ligt, a fashion stylist from Holland, showing her support for this movement and nominating her other girlfriends to do the same.

If you’re on social media, you’ve probably heard of Drea Chong. She’s a local public figure and the founder of The DC Edit, a website that homes in on beauty, lifestyle and perspectives for women.

This IWD, Drea launched a Women’s Day Campaign on The DC Edit, which included Anabel Chew, co-founder of WeBarre, Joan Chang, founder of OVE, and Nabillah Jalal, founder of NJ Studio.

These inspiring women took the time to share candid experiences as women, from starting their own businesses to how they’ve managed to overcome challenges along the way. These female entrepreneurs also left us with words of wisdom on the importance of believing in yourself and sticking to your gut.

“Gender equality isn’t a woman’s issue, but a community’s priority.”

When we saw this quote featured on Love, Bonito’s Instagram page, we knew it was an anthem that everyone had to stand for not just on IWD, but every day as well. Founder of Love, Bonito, Rachel Lim, decided that it was best to let her team share their pledges and thoughts about what it means to be a woman and how we should respect women.

The men working at Love, Bonito also voiced their thoughts in lieu of IWD, and we thought that Ganesh, a data analyst, perfectly encapsulated how women in Singapore inspire change: “The sheer determination and tenacity of women inspire me to constantly challenge the status quo and push boundaries.”

We can't help but feel that IWD this year has impacted and inspired many, and we know that next year will be even more empowering.

 

Brianna and Bertilla Wong, co-founders of local clothing brand The Closet Lover, stepped up to share about how they found their strength as women with their own IWD campaign: #HERstory.

On the IGTV, the co-founders came together with other inspiring women to share their thoughts on how society has progressed with regards to their views of women over the years. Brianna and Bertilla shared about how starting their own business almost 10 years ago was tough, especially when they were two young women in a male-dominated industry. Now, they’ve empowered us with their success stories and reminded us that women should never be belittled or defined by their gender.

Besides the many empowering campaigns launched on IWD for women, by women, we’ve also caught a glimpse of men dedicating this special day the inspiring women in their lives.

In an Instagram post, Singapore’s Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat gave a shout-out to his wife of 32 years, Hwee Nee, and thanked her for being his pillar of strength throughout their years of marriage.

He also encouraged Singaporeans to not only take time out to celebrate IWD with the women in our lives, but also to work together to build a supportive environment for Singaporean women to fulfill their aspirations.

Despite uploading entertaining and funny videos weekly, Team NOC went for a serious note in their video for IWD this week. They gathered individuals behind the scenes at Team NOC to share about what it was like to be a woman in Singapore.

They also discussed how it was often said in the past that women didn’t have to succeed as they could easily depend on men. But now, successful women have taken charge and empowered each other to reach greater heights.

We also liked how they included men in this video too – it gave a fresh perspective on how men today view women as equals, and it was heartening to see past stereotypes slowly being thrown out.

Her World is celebrating her 60th anniversary this year and to coincide with IWD, the brand launched a movement called #HerWorldHerStory. Every month from March to August, Her World will be releasing stories of 10 women sharing their successes, passions, challenges, inspirations, hopes and dreams. Together, they give a snapshot of what it is to be a woman today.

Her World also invites readers to share their own inspiring story on Instagram by hashtagging #HerWorldHerStory. Check out the 10 personalities featured in March here.