Here’s an easy exercise: think of one woman in your life who inspires you to be a better, more empowered version of yourself. (It’s probably hard to choose only one!) Now here’s a harder task: think of the last time you expressed genuine gratitude for her impact on your life. International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, and this year the hashtag is #PressForProgress. ServiceNow is inspired by every woman in our ecosystem, and we encourage you to help shine a light on the powerful women in your lives, too.

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Showing support of this movement once a year is wonderful, but there is more we all can (and must) do to promote equality in and outside of the workplace. Amplifying and validating the voices and ideas of women is one of the most powerful things you can do, and you can start today. By creating these moments of belonging, we can all feel encouraged to bring our authentic selves to work each day. To celebrate this International Women’s Day, we are sharing stories and advice from some of the most inspiring employees we know:

Christine (Walters) Norton is an international performance artist who paints the abstract of live DJ music.

Sarah Holberg has completed 3 Ironman Triathalons!

Tara Romero‘s passion is building schools in under-developed countries.

Katie Ott is starting her 7th season as a semi-pro women’s tackle football player!

Marci Phelan hosts international students, and has 14 “kids” around the world.

Joy Snook is an avid cyclist who has competed and placed in several races.

Janice Gelb helps organize the International World Science Fiction Convention.

Geraldine Ang mentors youth through quality leadership and entrepreneurship programs.

Mercedes Scalzitti is a rockstar who’s created and performed with more than 4 bands!

Meredith O’Ryan helps run a fundraising group to drive research into brain cancer treatments.

Rama Varsani is a STEM ambassador inspiring girls to get involved in technology. (To support International Women’s Day, ServiceNow is sponsoring Rama and her colleague, Kate, to bring talented children into our Staines HQ to create an app that drives a social purpose in their communities.)

This isn’t all these women are doing to #PressForProgress. They’re offering some words of encouragement and advice for other women looking to do amazing things.

Here are their pearls of wisdom:

• Have Mentors. Make sure you have mentors across multiple companies and industries so you can get diverse perspectives and grow your network. 
• Know yourself. This will help you steer your career to where you do your best work and derive great satisfaction from it.
• If you don’t enjoy your work, change jobs or careers. Eight hours a day is too much time to spend doing something you don’t like, as everyone around you will know.
• Don’t wait to be invited to the table, make your spot and hold on tight
• Stay true, always put integrity and honesty first – but be direct – don’t be afraid to say what needs to be said
• Be vocal. You need to tell people about your career aspirations so they think about you the next time an opportunity arises.  People want to help you but they are not mind readers so do yourself a favor and start talking about the things you really want.
• Try to get involved with projects that involve others outside your own specific job responsibilities to widen your circle and expand your knowledge of the organization.
• Be observant. When you see someone do something you like or admire file that away in your professional toolkit.  When you see someone do something you don’t like, take the time to understand why and file those learnings away as well.
• Never give up!

If there is one thing to take away from this global celebration, it’s that you don’t need a single calendar day to lift up the women around you. Share your stories of success and inspiration using the #PressForProgress hashtag today, and keep doing your part to encourage women’s success all year round.