Every year, around March, the world turns celebratory pink. Panels are assembled. Hashtags trend. Brands rekindle their love for 'empowered women.' Corporate LinkedIn posts pay tribute to 'the incredible women on our teams.'

And yet, beneath the gloss and hype, I find myself asking an uncomfortable question: What exactly are we celebrating?

If Women’s Day is about equality, the numbers in the media industry are dismal. Women enter the corporate world in strong numbers. They dominate junior and mid-level roles. They are visible and hold promise. But as we move upward, into ownership, boardrooms, C-suite creative leadership, the funnel narrows. Quietly. Systemically.

Confront the corporate world and you are met with defensive responses. HR records are produced of numbers of women hired, promoted, pushed onto speaker panels. Yes, women are visible. But visibility does not equate to power. Representation is not authority. 

There is still a gender pay gap. And a mom penalty.

There are rooms where women are heard but not credited.

'Creative genius' narratives still default male.

Safety issues are brushed aside as 'part of the job.'

Caregiving penalties derail promising careers.

And invisible emotional labour - multitasking, mentoring, smoothing conflict, holding it all together at work and at home- is rarely mentioned in performance reviews.

Celebrate Women’s Day without acknowledging these realities and it becomes pinkwashing. Symbolic, not systemic. And systemic change requires allyship.

If the media industry truly shapes culture, then Women’s Day should feel less like celebration and more like a boardroom audit with brutal queries.

How many women control P&L? How many head creative departments without being the poster child? How many own the companies we glorify? How many are missing from the table, busy holding the ladder steady instead? How many are still being asked to prove themselves twice over- at home and at work?

Another uncomfortable truth- We speak passionately to rooms full of women. We celebrate one another, which is important but the people who most need to engage are often absent. When the narrative centers exclusively on women, Women’s Day becomes a women-only applause circle. It lets men off the hook or alienates the very allies we need.

Let me be honest. My career was not built by me alone.

It was built by a father who waited for hours outside studios at midnight while I wrapped shoots, never suggesting that ambition had an expiry date for daughters.

It was built by male bosses who saw something in me before I did, and backed that belief with opportunity. By male peers and friends who quietly slipped my name into rooms I wasn’t in.

It is being built by a husband who takes over the home and child front when I travel or face a high-stakes presentation. 'Sharing the Load' is a given, not a strapline.

So yes, celebrate women. But include the men who actively dismantle bias. The ones who share domestic labour without applause. The ones who refuse all-male panels. The ones who correct credit in real time.

That is allyship in action. Not a 8 March post. Not a tote bag. Not a themed breakfast.

Real allyship is sponsorship. Shared labour. Accurate credit. Calling out bias. Hiring, paying, and promoting EQUALLY.

Happy Wo+Men’s Day.

The author is founder and CCO, HumanSense.

This article first appeared in the March issue of Manifest which can be bought here.