Women's Day is all about celebrating women in the workplace, from service workers to corporate leaders to entrepreneurs breaking new ground and leading the way in innovation. In the corporate world, giving gifts to your employees on these special occasions can be a huge boon in terms of recognition, appreciation, and employee retention. The trick is finding something you can gift them that won't fall flat, give the wrong ideas, or highlight a lack of appreciation in other spheres.
International Women's Day happens on March 8 every year, so you have plenty of time to plan and prepare. While getting a gift to show your appreciation is a good step, you'll also want to make sure you truly do appreciate those employees in your corporate office.
Gift Idea #1: Travel Accessory Packs
One great option for a Women's Day gift is a pack of travel accessories. A nice carry-on bag stuffed with some of the essentials everyone can use when they're traveling can be a great gift.
Consider items your employees are likely to get use from but might not want to buy themselves, such as:
- A neck pillow.
- A silk sleep mask.
- Nice luggage tags.
- Portable chargers and battery packs.
- Personal care items.
- Noise-canceling headphones.
This is also a great option if your employees frequently travel for business. If you're sending them all over the country for trade shows, expos, meetings, and more, it's a great idea to help make their journey smoother in any way you can.
Gift Idea #2: Classic Treats
One of the most traditional options is a gift basket with an assortment of delicious treats. Chocolates, fruits, exotic snacks from around the world; whatever you pack into it, make sure it's something you can't just pick up for a few bucks at the local convenience store. You're looking for the really nice, high-end chocolates, the delectable preserves, the gourmet snacks you can't find locally.
For more beverage-oriented options, you can also go with tea or coffee samplers. Both can have a lot of depth and nuance, so there's a near endless amount of options to choose from.
The downside of food as a gift is that you have to know your recipient well enough to get them things they'll enjoy. Someone who doesn't like dark chocolate isn't going to enjoy a gift with a sampler of dark chocolate truffles, and someone allergic to nuts isn't going to feel appreciated with a mixed nut canister.
If you don't know your employees well enough, you can set up an ala carte set of options and allow them to pick and choose what they want in their gift basket for a more completely customized experience.
Gift Idea #3: Personalized Keepsakes
Another option, specifically for organizations with large numbers of employees, might be to create lower-value but entirely personalized swag gifts. A set of glassware with a small, tasteful logo and the employee's name can be an excellent keepsake and gift for your employees throughout your organization. If a set of glasses doesn't feel like enough, you can opt for a variety pack of items, including nice stationary, water bottles, electronics, and more.
For ideas, why not browse our shop? We have all manner of items on offer, from apparel and stationary to totes and bags, and much more. While we don't have everything, we have plenty of options, and you'll be sure to get some ideas from it.
You probably aren't going to be going with a pair of socks and a notepad for your Women's Day celebrations, but the beauty of a shop like ours is that there are options for every occasion, from singular events to every-day trade shows and even office use.
Gift Idea #4: Simple Utility Totes
Canvas totes might not be high-value gifts, but a nicely made tote with durable materials, ethical production, tasteful branding, and plenty of utility can go a long way toward being a small but tangible improvement in the lives of your employees.
Think about it. How often in your daily life would you benefit from having a tote on hand? Something you could fold up and keep in a purse, or stash away in your car for use whenever you're out and about? It helps with environmental sustainability by eliminating the need for yet more plastic bags in our lives, it provides utility to everyone who has one, and with the right design, it doesn't feel like they're taking work home with them to act like a walking advertisement.
Gift Idea #5: Bath and Body Benefits
While it might feel like a stereotype to give women cosmetics and bathing supplies for an appreciation day, the truth is that we all bathe, and everyone can enjoy baths, skincare, haircare, and other accessories. Whether it's an elegant lotion, a set of interesting bath bombs, exfoliants, and scrubs, or tools like nail care, hair care, or skincare accessories, there's no end to the options available to you.
This is also an area where you're likely to find a lot of women-owned brands operating in the space, so you can build your gift pack by supporting women-owned businesses and showing your appreciation to your female employees for Women's Day. There's a reason why it works so well!
Gift Idea #6: On Food and Cooking
We all have to eat, and most of us spend a good amount of time in the kitchen. So, why not build an appreciation gift around that fact?
There are tons of items you can get for the kitchen that can go a long way toward making someone feel appreciated.
- A good kitchen knife.
- A set of useful cutting boards.
- A nice spice rack to accommodate many spices.
- Unique spices themselves that are harder to find.
- A selection of flavored sea salts.
If you can't decide, again, you can create a selection and allow your employees to choose the items that would be most interesting to them, including specialized cookbooks, more unusual ingredients like flavored honey, or items like Dutch ovens that are valuable but also a hassle if they already have one or don't have space for one.
Gift Idea #7: Local Artisan Items
Pretty much no matter where you live, chances are there are a handful of local artists and artisans who are making unique products you can't find anywhere else. From gorgeous jewelry to knitted fabric crafts to ceramics and glass, there's sure to be something for everyone. You can go around to these artists, pick up a bunch of items – or custom-commission items for specific employees – and hand them out as gifts.
There's also the possibility that some of your employees moonlight as artists and artisans. If they do, you might consider purchasing items from them to hand out (to everyone but themselves, of course), and include business cards and contact information to help them along. The only downside to this is it can feel somewhat unfair to the people who don't have their own small businesses – after all, purchasing a bunch of items from one might be more value than what those items bring to the others.
Gift Idea #8: Green Thumb Gifts
Another option works best for the employees who have green thumbs, whether they have a handful of houseplants or a great garden. There are a million different items you can gift in the plant sphere, from unique pots and trays to gift cards to local plant shops to new succulents or other plants that can be added to their collections.
Depending on the kinds of gifts you get, you'll want to balance the number, amount, and size of those items. A huge starter pack of gardening equipment is a little much for people who live in apartments without yards, right? Not everyone has the space or the availability for a lot of larger plants. As always, consider the context of the gifts you give and the recipients who get them.
Gift Idea #9: Inclusive Spa Day
Sometimes, the best appreciation gift is an experience. You might, for example, set up a spa day for your employees. Bring in a masseuse, send everyone to a local bathhouse, sponsor their next trip to the salon, and more. You can do a lot, ranging from small individual gifts to entire experiences.
If you want to make it really something special, set up a whole-day experience, hire conveyance to bring your staff around to various spa locations and give them a paid day off to experience it all. You'll need to book it in advance, of course – and you may want to warn your employees it's going to happen so they're prepared for the day – but it can be a great way to show appreciation.
One note, though: make sure there are no looming deadlines or other sources of stress that can make a spa day – or just a day off work – feel like more of a burden than a relief.
Gift Idea #10: Show Me The Money
Sometimes, the best show of appreciation is simply monetary. While it can feel impersonal, it's certainly the best option for a customizable gift. No one is going to have a disappointing time when they buy themselves their own treats!
You have several options here. You can get the usual purely monetary Visa gift cards or something broadly applicable like Amazon. Alternatively, you can pick up gift cards for local businesses and chains, which are narrower but more direct and guided in their application. You can also go with much more narrow gift cards to specific businesses, but then you run the risk of handing out gifts to people who can't or don't want to use them, and you're back where you started.
If you go with the generic money cards, make sure to at least put some thought into the design you get for the cards. The small details matter when it's something so direct.
What to Look for in a Great Corporate Gift for Women's Day
When you're trying to evaluate whether or not any given item would be a good gift for Women's Day, there can be a lot to consider. While our list above gives you a few places you can start, it's far from exhaustive, and you might find that none of those ideas suit your needs. So, let's talk about some more general advice you can use to pick the perfect gift for your employees.
Go with something ethical and sustainable. The gifts you give out, whether it's a simple pack of nice stationary or a custom-embroidered jacket, should be as ethically and sustainably made as possible. Now, we understand that you can't always know every aspect of how a product is made, but we also do everything we can to know that for our products. That's why you'll see badges on our products, such as USA-made, sustainable, eco-friendly, and union-made. We strive to be transparent in everything we offer.
If possible, consider something from a women-owned business. Women's Day is, after all, all about celebrating women, so if you can find products to purchase for your gifts that themselves come from women-owned businesses, you further reinforce the meaning of the day and put your money where your ethics are.
Think about what your employees really need. One of the most common cautions we give is that gifts are not the solution to a problem; they are a force multiplier. If your employees are already happy, appreciated, and well-compensated, a gift of appreciation further helps them enjoy their role. On the other hand, if they're struggling with overwork, sub-par pay, and workplace stress, giving them an appreciation gift just highlights how bad everything else is.
Sometimes, the best appreciation gift for Women's Day is a raise.
If you're in the market for a good appreciation gift, for Women's Day, for employee recognition awards, or for any other reason, feel free to browse our store and see if anything catches your eye. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have; we're more than happy to answer!
Daniel Cardozo, CEO of Ethix Merch, is a passionate advocate for ethical promotional products. With a mission to transform global supply chains, he serves on the Labor 411 Foundation and Advertising Specialty Institute's Promo for the Planet Advisory Board. Daniel is dedicated to empowering socially and environmentally-conscious consumers.
