International Women’s Day 

What is International Women’s Day?

March 8 is International Women’s Day. This day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women worldwide. In addition, this day is also about creating attention to the obtained rights of women worldwide. Women’s rights don’t come naturally: the oppression of women is still visible in various cultures today. For example, there are girls who are still not allowed to go to school and women are used as human shields in war zones. And for example in countries such as the United States, the established right to abortion is under pressure. As long as the right balance has not yet been achieved, celebrating International Women’s Day annually remains important. This day therefore also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality.

International Women’s Day is celebrated worldwide and is even an official holiday in many countries, such as Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan , Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. In Germany it has been an official holiday since 2019, but only for women who live in Berlin.

In the Netherlands and many other countries, International Women’s Day is not (yet) an official holiday and unfortunately many people believe that it should remain that way. But that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything yourself. This day is about activism and bringing change to current patterns and systems in our patriarchal societies worldwide. Commit to international women’s rights and organise an event on March 8, speak out about the subject or raise money for charity.

COSH! supports female entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship brings many challenges. Add the disadvantages of gender inequality to this and then imagine entrepreneurship as a woman. At COSH! we know that female entrepreneurship can be quite a challenge: after all, our own founder Niki de Schryver is a woman!

COSH! supports female entrepreneurship and during International Women’s Day we put more conscious female entrepreneurs in the fashion industry in the spotlight. Female entrepreneurs improve the lives of women in the production chain and act as ​‘role models’ for new generations. YAY for these power women in business!

Discover impact-driven female entrepreneurs through COSH!

Did you know that on average around 60% of the impact-driven fashion entrepreneurs in the COSH! network is a woman? In Belgium and Germany this percentage is even higher, where around 72% of local, impact-driven fashion businesses are run by women. In the Netherlands this is 53% and in Spain 41%. At COSH! we are beyond proud of so many inspiring, conscious, independently enterprising women in our network!

Impact-driven female entrepreneurs in Belgium

From small-scale, local maker ateliers to established impact-driven fashion businesses: in Belgium 74% of the conscious entrepreneurs from the COSH! network is a woman. We are beyond proud of that! These women make a difference in the current Belgian business life and are an example for many young women who have similar dreams or goals in life. Our own female founder of COSH!, Niki de Schryver, is also from Belgium and during the past year she had to fight to set the tone in the business environment of Belgium as a conscious, impact-driven entrepreneur.

Impact-driven female entrepreneurs in the Netherlands

We can proudly state that more than half (52%) of the conscious entrepreneurs from the Dutch network of COSH! is a woman. From established impact-driven fashion businesses with points of sale throughout the whole country to companies run by a female duo of friends, sisters or even mother and daughter. Dutch female entrepreneurs show that running their own business can be more conscious, social and creative all at the same time.

Impact-driven female entrepreneurs in Germany

In Germany, many female entrepreneurs are taking the lead when it comes to impact entrepreneurship. Around 72% of the impact-driven entrepreneurs from the German COSH! network is female. Think of local companies that are committed to improving the lives of women in the production chain, but also local maker ateliers where everything from production, design to sales is done by women.

Impact-driven female entrepreneurs in Spain

In Spain, the majority of the more conscious entrepreneurs may still be men, but impact-driven female entrepreneurs are making their way here too. About 41% of the conscious entrepreneurs from the Spanish network of Ethical Time by COSH! is female. Even though this is a percentage to be proud of, we at COSH! encourage that the number of female entrepreneurs grows even further!