Celebrating Female Entrepreneurs on International Women’s Day

International Women's Day is a global day marked annually on March 8 that celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. In honor of International Women’s Day, I would like to highlight just a few of the delightful and practical women-founded businesses that I value having in my life.

OUI the People. Karen Young is the founder of OUI the People, which is a direct-to-consumer beauty company that is committed “to changing the language of beauty.” According to Young, when she was younger, her mother banned beauty magazines in the house but subscribed to National Geographic. That sort of practicality is alive and well in OUI. OUI stands out by delivering realistic and effective tools for living your best life in your skin while leaving the antiquated view of beauty behind. OUI’s razors are the best!

Freda Salvador. This amazing company, founded by Cristina Palomo-Nelson and Megan Papay, makes shoes that have become a staple in my closet. The shoes are amazingly feminine, comfortable, durable and unique, while also being timeless in appearance. Freda Salvador also makes a point of highlighting inspiring women in its “The Freda Women Series.” Most recently, the series highlighted Amber Lewis, founder of Amber Interior Design. Amber’s designs provide fresh inspiration for those that love the cool California canyon styling (like me!). 

theSkimm. Founded by Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, theSkimm provides a subscription-only newsletter containing simple breakdowns of current big stories and provides readers with context as to why the stories matter. The service really responds to how female millennials consume the news. I start every day with theSkimm and highly recommend the subscription. 

The Sill. Founder Eliza Bank can count me included in the cult following of her houseplants company. What can I say? Plants are people, too. 

What I love most about the businesses I mention above is that they celebrate women every single day of the year, whether by featuring women artisans and makers — focusing on delivering what women want in their product offerings — or promoting the visibility of women’s health. They celebrate the resilience and power of women. I think we can all say cheers to that!