International Women's Day is on 8 March every year. In 2027 that is a Monday, and the official campaign is already using the hashtag #IWD2027.

The official International Women's Day site makes a few points worth knowing before you plan anything:

• It is open to everyone The site says the day is not specific to any country, group or organisation

• It is older than most brands The first International Women's Day was held in 1911

• It is not only one day Activity happens in the weeks before and after 8 March, not just on the date itself

As this goes up, the official site has not yet named a campaign theme for 2027. The 2026 theme was Give To Gain, which asked people and organisations to give to women's advancement in whatever form they could: money, knowledge, mentoring, visibility, advocacy or time. If you are building a campaign around the theme, wait for the 2027 announcement rather than borrowing last year's.

International Women's Day is a good moment to look at the women we represent or work with. A few of them, in the words of their own profiles:

• [Tate McRae](/talents/tate-mcrae) A Canadian singer, songwriter and dancer, Grammy-nominated, and a former finalist on So You Think You Can Dance. Her third studio album, So Close to What, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200

• [Fleur East](/talents/fleur-east) A London-based singer, presenter, radio host, actress and podcast creator. She co-presents Strictly: It Takes Two, fronts the Hits Radio Breakfast Show, hosts the podcast Shaping Success and runs Kurl Kitchen, a natural hair brand

• ADÈLA A Slovak singer-songwriter and dancer signed to Capitol Records, who trained in ballet for 13 years and was a finalist on Netflix's The Debut: Dream Academy

• Jeanna Krichel A stylist and creative director based between Berlin and Paris, working across fashion and contemporary art, whose work has appeared in Vogue and Harper's Bazaar

They are musicians, broadcasters, founders and creative directors as well as faces for campaigns, and that range is the point. Alongside them, the models on our female models board work across fashion, beauty, lifestyle and commercial shoots. You can see everyone on our full talent roster.

The best-known example is the Gender Pay Gap Bot. Built in the UK by Francesca Lawson and her partner Ali Fensome, the Twitter account @PayGapApp matched company names from UK government pay gap data to their accounts. When one of those companies posted about International Women's Day, the bot quoted the post with the company's median hourly gender pay gap.

One reply, to a UK pub chain, read: "In this organisation, women's median hourly pay is 73.2% lower than men's."

Lawson told reporters in 2022 that the aim was "to put the gender pay gap data back into the spotlight", and to show how "photos of smiling female employees and inspirational quotes conceal" what happens inside a company. She said she was frustrated that companies treat the day "as a marketing opportunity".

The lesson for brands is simple. In the UK, employers with 250 or more staff must report their gender pay gap every year, and anyone can search those figures on the government's gender pay gap service. If your post says one thing and your own numbers say another, someone can put the two side by side in a minute.

There is no single right way to mark the day. The official campaign says organisations should choose what suits them, whether that is advocacy, celebration or simply getting people together. What makes it read as genuine is that the activity does something, and that it carries on after 8 March. Our advice:

• Check your own house first Look up your published pay gap, if you have one, and be ready to talk about it. A post that ignores a known gap invites the reply

• Book women for the work, not the date Hire women to create, direct, style and front the campaign, and pay them properly. A campaign made by women says more than a caption about them

• Let women speak for themselves Give the talent you work with room to say something in their own words, rather than writing it for them

• Give something real The 2026 theme asked organisations to give money, mentoring, visibility or time, and to support nonprofits working for women and girls. A donation or a partnership that lasts is easier to believe than a graphic

• Make it last beyond the day The official site encourages support all year round. Plan what happens in April as well as on 8 March

• Plan early The best creators and talent book up ahead of big dates, and a rushed post is the one most likely to go wrong

If a post does go badly, respond quickly and honestly. Our guide to handling a PR crisis covers what to do in the first hours.

We help brands plan talent campaigns, book models and creators, and run brand PR around dates like this one. If you are thinking about International Women's Day 2027 and want to work with the women on our roster, or want a second opinion on whether an idea will land, get in touch. Five months is enough time to do it properly.