International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day has been observed for over a century, with the first gathering support from over a million people in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

Women in Travel Retail (WiTR) decide to mark the day with a number of activities throughout the world.

We teamed up with the Moodie Davitt Report to celebrate IWD with a branded make-over of the website.

WiTR raises Breast Cancer awareness in Singapore

In Singapore, an intimate and cosy networking-cum-sharing event was held on 8 March 2018, kindly sponsored by Estee Lauder, with the support of WiTR Steering Committee Member Chandra Mahtani (Changi Airport Group).

Held at The Glass House, Hotel Fort Canning, the event attracted over 30 female executives from the travel retail industry, as well as local brands / operators.

Chandra kicked off the night’s programme with a welcome address and an introduction to the WiTR’s vision and efforts. She shared about the WITR’s attractive member benefits such as the member-only area access during tax free shows, networking forums and industry data and research and enticed the guests to sign up as members. She also touched on WiTR’s current fundraising plans for the launch of a music program for children jointly organised with the charity organization, Hand in Hand for Haiti.

The night’s event continued with an inspiring and personal sharing session by two speakers from Estee Lauder’s selected charity, Breast Cancer Foundation.

The audience benefitted from the informative talk by Ms. Anthea Kiu, GM of Breast Cancer Foundation, on breast cancer prevention and detection. Ms. Linda Tam, a breast cancer survivor, touched the audience with an animated and inspirational account of her overcoming the disease.

Ms. Celine Tan, Estee Lauder’s Regional Brand Director for Origins, Glam Glow and Becca, then rounded up the session with a sharing on wellness tips and Estee Lauder’s initiatives for breast cancer.

The guests were treated to a champagne toast session before the start of the networking segment. An exciting lucky draw with prizes sponsored by Pashma, Estee Lauder, FNA and DFS marked the end of a wonderful evening of a successful and lively event. All participants also went home with door gifts generously sponsored by Estee Lauder.

 

WiTR Pampering Lunch in Dubai

International Women’s Day was celebrated in style in Dubai on March 8th with a special ‘pampering lunch’ organized by WiTR’s regional steering group member Sinead El Sibai of Dubai Duty Free (DDF).

DDF teamed up with Shisedo and Nars to provide WiTR Middle East members with a relaxing skin care and make-up session at the stylish Cuba lounge at the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel. A light lunch was served in Cuba, which enjoys spectacular views over the city, with drinks being provided by Bottega.

The 20 women, all of whom are signed up members of WiTR, enjoyed the convivial atmosphere and heard about plans for the WiTR website which will provide members with invaluable industry information as well as practical advice for those who travel frequently.

Speaking at the lunch, Sinead said:

“WiTR provides us with a great opportunity to interact with other female executives and share our experiences. The plan is to have WiTR events in our individual regions on a regular basis and I have asked those attending on International Women’s Day to share their thoughts on the kind of events that they feel we should organize, which would help them either from a business or social angle. Many thanks to Shisedo, to Nars and to Bottega for helping us host this inaugural event in Dubai” 

In London, WiTR members enjoyed a networking meal at The Westminster Kitchen

In Warsaw, a large group women from the industry toasted IWD in the back of a TFWA management committee meeting.

Despite terrible weather in Amsterdam, an event was held at the Kyas Art Salon attended by representatives from PVH, Marchon and Heineken.

While others, such as Kurate International in Ireland, showed their support.