International Women's Day = A Chance For You To Do The Right Thing And Express Your Appreciation

Monday is International Women’s Day. It’s a good time to pause and think about not just how far women overall have come in the fight for equality, but also about the struggles and triumphs of the women in our lives — our mothers, daughters, sisters, colleagues and friends.

This year I'm thinking a lot about our grandmother, Margaret McCann. Our grandfather, Frank McCann, had a painting business and when he died unexpectedly in 1949. Our father, James, had to get involved in the business. During that time, there was no social safety net. Our grandmother dusted herself off and figured it out. Dad was only 22, just out of the service and he didn’t know a lot about the business, but he had to be the public face of the company — because he was a man. Women were rarely in charge of companies at the time.

Our grandmother knew what had to be done — how to price things, create estimates and manage the finances. Thank goodness, because she actually ran the business until dad learned the ropes. Our grandmother was a wonderful example of the strength of women and I have learned so much from her in life and in business.

Forward Progress

Today, most people wouldn’t think twice about a woman in charge of a business. About 40 percent of U.S. businesses are women-owned — up 114 percent in the last 20 years — and those businesses generate $1.7 trillion a year.

The progress hasn’t been limited to business. In 2018, women made up more than 52 percent of law school students, comprising the majority for the third year in a row, according to the American Bar Association. Women also accounted for the majority of medical school students for the first time in 2019, at 50.5 percent, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges.

Celebrating Women in 2021

Let’s reach out and tell the women in our lives how we feel about them on International Women’s Day. Let’s tell them how much we support them – whether they are the CEO of a company or their family. Let’s all work together to make sure all women have every opportunity to shine and succeed.

We have wonderful women at our company and one of them, Sara Resnick, is organizing an internal event for Women’s History Month to share their stories with the team. I would love to hear your stories about women who inspire. Be sure to use the the hashtag #OneOfaKindWomen on your social channels.

 Here are just a few of the women who inspire us across our family of brands:

Sara Resnick is a Vice President in our marketing department who is highly accomplished in and out of the office. Recognized as one of Remodista’s “Women We Watch”, she has also been recognized for innovation with an “EDGIE Award” and received a US Search Award for Diversity, Inclusion and Equality. Sara is a volunteer and keynote speaker at prestigious events and organizations including Smile Farms, eTail East and Girls Who Code.

Maria Marascia, Senior Manager of Interactive Marketing is a bronze medal winner in the 800 meters at the 2020 South American Indoor National Championship.

Tania Nemaric, Vice President of Brand Marketing, is also a mom and was recently recognized as among the “Women to Watch” in Brand Marketing by Brand Innovators.

Susan Rodgers, Vice President of Marketing at Cheryl’s, serves on the Board of Directors for the non-profit Dress for Success, Columbus Ohio Chapter and serves as the Chair of the Marketing Committee. Susan considers one of her greatest accomplishments in life being the stepmom to an incredible 19-year-old daughter and 17-year-old son, and the mom to 7-year-old twin girls. I tell my girls constantly: “you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to do. Working hard and perseverance in goal-setting and accomplishing goals is so much of our purpose in life”.

Julie McCann-Mulligan Lifestyle & Floral Expert/Philanthropist & Smile Farms Advocate- my sister Julie started her career in the floral industry more than 40 years ago in a small, family-owned flower shop in New York City. Julie’s career path followed the same upward trajectory of a once-little enterprise that is today known as 1-800-Flowers.com. Representing the company’s floral lifestyle vision, Julie has shared her talent and passion in numerous television appearances from Extra to NBC’s Weekend Today. She’s also been featured in national magazines like People, US Weekly, Family Circle and Women’s Day, and popular design blogs.

Community Spotlight: join us on Monday, March 8th at noon eastern for a 1-800-Flowers.com Instagram takeover with entrepreneur and model CeCe Olisa. She will participate in a Q&A about International Women's Day. CeCe will be celebrating the achievements of women and give tips on how women can celebrate each day with confidence and creativity.

PS: This week our friends at Worth Media conducted its Women & Worth Summit and one of the takeaways I had (and yes, I acknowledge I'm a half glass full type of person) is that this has been a “forcing function” kind of year. In other words, it has forced us to reexamine our lives and our roles and it has been challenging for many women. From the dialogue from the Women & Worth conference it seems that there’s an opportunity to advance our thinking about our careers, roles and responsibilities and we can use this as an opportunity to reframe how we think about these things as well as what skills we will want to develop for our future. 

PPS: Our Connectivity Council member, Dan Willingham, recently wrote a piece in the L.A. Times about one of the fundamental questions of parenting- - showing our children the solution versus having them learn on their own. Turns out, it’s not black or white. I’ve been sharing it with all the parents I know including my own children.