Beyond International Women’s Day: Building Meaningful Communications Campaigns Around Women in Tech

Once again, International Women’s Day rolled around and there was a sudden surge in media outreach from brands keen to spotlight the women in organisations. The intentions are usually good: tech in particular still has a significant gender imbalance, and more does need to be done to support women in the sector. The execution, however, usually falls short.

Journalists see it every March: last-minute pitches celebrating “women in tech” but with no substance behind them; a list of female spokespeople suddenly available for comment for the first time all year; and a handful of statistics about gender diversity. Without clear strategy behind them – and often with little substance – these campaigns rarely translate into meaningful coverage.

The truth is, if you only talk about women in tech one day a year, the media will notice. They’re unlikely to engage, and you risk undermining your own credibility.

For communications teams that genuinely care about this issue, and want to make a real impact, it all comes down to strategy. So what should organisations be doing?

Build the narrative year-round

You can’t build credibility overnight. If you want your organisation to have authority on issues around women in technology, you need to be having that conversation throughout the year – not just in March.

That means consistently showcasing the female leaders in your organisation – putting forward their commentary around industry trends, inviting them to speak on panels, and positioning them as experts in ongoing media conversations. If you’re only pushing forward male spokespeople the rest of the year, ask yourself why – and make some changes. International Women’s Day shouldn’t be a time you’re introducing new voices, it should be a time you can point to ones you’ve already lifted up.

Campaigns that build momentum over time will always resonate more strongly than a one-day communications push.

Listen to the women in your organisation

The real key to any successful campaign is authenticity. When it comes to women in tech, this means engaging with the women in your business and ensuring you understand their perspectives. Rather than creating messaging about them, involve them in shaping the narrative. What issues matter to them? What changes have they experienced in their careers? What work are they proud of?

Your communications strategies should reflect their lived experiences – this will make the story much more compelling and credible to media, and crucially will also have a much bigger chance of actually making a difference.

Make sure you actually have something to say

Journalists are not looking for abstract statements about supporting women in technology – there are plenty of those out there already. They are looking for proof of tangible actions.

That could be programmes that actively support female leadership, initiatives that improve representation, or clear examples of women leading innovation within your organisation. It could also mean highlighting the work female engineers, product leaders or founders are doing to solve real industry challenges.

If you can’t point to any clear actions your organisation is taking, consider whether this is a story you should be telling in the media at all. In a landscape where journalists are increasingly alert to performative statements, talking about support without demonstrating it can quickly become a reputational risk.

Let women lead conversations as experts

One of the most common mistakes in “women in tech” campaigns is framing spokespeople primarily through their gender, and only putting them forward to talk about what are perceived as “women’s issues”.

Being a woman in technology can absolutely shape perspective and experience. But the most powerful positioning comes when women are recognised first and foremost as experts in their fields.

A cybersecurity specialist should be quoted on security threats. A data scientist should comment on AI innovation. A product leader should speak about scaling platforms. When women are consistently positioned as authoritative voices on core industry issues, they become recognised for their expertise, rather than just their gender. And that’s where long-term credibility, and meaningful media coverage, really begins.

International Women’s Day remains an important moment for reflection and visibility. But the organisations that are putting out meaningful communications around women in tech are those that see it as a checkpoint in a much longer conversation, not a one off tick box exercise.