Marketing Firm Profits From Confusion Surrounding International Women’s Day
Despite widespread recognition of the United Nations’ role in popularizing International Women’s Day, a London-based marketing firm is capitalizing on the annual event by selling merchandise, hosting exclusive events, and promoting corporate partnerships – leading some organizations to mistakenly believe the company is affiliated with the UN.
While 193 countries, countless businesses, and NGOs observe the day, the United Nations has increasingly formalized its celebration. However, the owner of internationalwomensday.com, IWD Support Ltd (formerly Aurora Ventures (Europe) Ltd), disputes this narrative. The website, which offers an “inner goddess” themed lunch for £160, has seeded annual themes with prominent British brands, creating a perception of official endorsement where none exists.
Organizations including Sainsbury’s, Barclays, and University College London have all drawn upon themes originating from internationalwomensday.com. When questioned by The Guardian, the UN unequivocally distanced itself from the website, which is run by marketing executive Glenda Slingsby.
For over two decades, internationalwomensday.com has operated, gradually removing language identifying it as a commercial entity and obscuring its connection to UN-led initiatives. The site’s homepage states, “Today IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific.” Elsewhere, it asserts, “All IWD activity is valid. IWD is a movement. It belongs to all groups, everywhere.”
UN Women, the UN entity dedicated to the empowerment of women and girls, confirmed to The Guardian that it has no affiliation with internationalwomensday.com. “Your inquiry provides an important opportunity to clarify that UN Women and the United Nations are not affiliated with the website referenced,” a spokesperson stated.
IWD Support maintains the website launched in 2001 as a non-profit to “promote the advancement of women’s equality worldwide,” arguing it successfully increased awareness by providing free resources and fostering a community. However, the site currently sells International Women’s Day merchandise packs – including purple tablecloths, “gratitude cards,” and wristbands – for £184, and features directories for speakers and charities.
Over the past decade, the website has annually designated a theme for International Women’s Day, including “Make it Happen” in 2015, “Accelerate Action” for 2025, and “Give to Gain” for 2026. These themes have been adopted by UK organizations in their marketing campaigns.
In 2025, the BBC cited internationalwomensday.com as an authority on the day’s symbolism, stating, “Purple, green and white are the colours of IWD, according to the International Women’s Day website … Purple signifies justice and dignity. Green symbolises hope. White represents purity, albeit a controversial concept.” Similarly, The Evening Standard presented the website’s “Accelerate Action” theme as the official UN theme for the year.
UN Women swiftly refuted these claims, confirming that its 2025 theme is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” A spokesperson emphasized that a group of global experts determines the official theme annually, communicated through official UN channels, and encouraged partners to adopt it. The spokesperson also clarified that purple, green, and white are not UN-designated colors for the campaign.
Following inquiries from The Guardian, the University of Warwick removed a blog post referencing internationalwomensday.com’s 2025 theme. “We were not aware of this PR firm or the unofficial capacity of its website. We have inadvertently used its theme Accelerate Action for one of our MBA blogs. This is unfortunate and we have taken down the blog to avoid any further confusion,” a university spokesperson said. University College London’s School of Management also removed a related blogpost in response to the query, but declined to comment. Sainsbury’s stated it has no relationship with Aurora Ventures.
Internationalwomensday.com lists partnerships with high-profile corporations including the London Eye, MetLife, British Petroleum, and Ernst & Young, which sponsored the company’s campaign in 2017. The London Eye, MetLife, Ernst & Young, and British Petroleum did not respond to requests for comment regarding these partnerships.
Aurora Ventures, the parent company of internationalwomensday.com, is identified only twice on the website – in its “privacy” and “terms of use” pages. The site describes itself as providing a “not-for-profit philanthropic service.” However, company records reveal Aurora Ventures is a private London-based firm listing its business activities as “web portals.” In 2024 and 2023, the company reported assets of approximately £940,000 and director’s expenses totaling £30,731 and £15,182 respectively, with no recorded charitable contributions over the past decade.
Glenda Slingsby, the majority owner of Aurora Ventures, founded the company – initially named Busygirl Limited – in London in 2000. A spokesperson for IWD Support asserted that the website is “one of many groups that now mark the day worldwide,” and that “IWD is not owned by one body,” noting that UN Women was established in 2010, nearly a decade after the website’s launch.
