Sunday, March 8, was International Women’s Day. Over half (53%) of SanMar’s 4,200 employees are women. According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest numbers, between 2008 and 2018:

• Women comprised 47% of the total U.S. labor force
• Accounted for the 51% increase in the total labor force growth
• 73% of employed women worked full-time jobs
• 27% worked on a part-time basis

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality on a worldwide scale. International Women’s Day is just now catching on here in the United States. However, it has been a big deal around the world since its inception in 1911, when it was celebrated by over a million people.

This year’s theme for International Women’s Day was #EachforEqual because “An equal world is an enabled world.”

On Friday, March 6, an appreciation event was held at SanMar’s EastPointe Building in Issaquah in honor of Sherri Cole, Group Lead at our West Chester Distribution Center; Melissa Nelson, VP of Legal; Rhonda Singleton, Director of Employee Engagement; and Guillermina Torres-Orozco, a Lift Operator at our Preston Distribution Center. These women were recognized as longtime leaders within the company, striving to be good examples of the great women can do when they are empowered.

Melissa Nelson said empowering women and girls means giving them opportunities to take on challenges that may not have been open to them in the past and supporting the girls who may be looking to you for inspiration.

It Starts with Girls
The message reassuring girls to never give up was a common theme from our honorees.

“Studies show that girls aren’t naturally risk-averse — society teaches them to be that way,” Melissa said. “Give them support to feel comfortable getting out of their comfort zone. Women bring diversity, experience, perseverance, calmness and objectivity because of their life experiences. We have come a long way, however there is still work to do.”

For many women, the need to feel empowered is important for success in the workplace. Guillermina Torres-Orozco said her inspiration for empowerment was her mother and it all started when she was a little girl. “I remember she would get up super early and make us breakfast,” said Guillermina. “She really was a hard worker. Thanks to her, she taught us to be hard workers and to be able to survive and advance in life.”

Sherri Cole said she hopes girls are given a chance to excel for the betterment of their futures and the futures of girls to come. “Give them the opportunity to be leaders so they can help shape the next generation,” Sherri said. “We need to encourage them to strive for excellence.”

They were all optimistic about the outlook for the future and especially for the women who work at SanMar.

“We should help, support, teach and mentor by sharing our experiences,” said Rhonda Singleton. “We should also ensure that we are getting support from our country.”

“We have to keep going and not give up,” said Guillermina. “As women, we can do what we set out to do in our minds and achieve our goals.”

We want to thank all of the women of SanMar for their hard work. We appreciate the diverse perspectives you bring to the SanMar family every day and wish you a happy Women’s History Month.

There are so many inspirational women in our lives — who inspires you? Join the conversation and let us know on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.