NEW YORK—A growing roster of organizations, companies, professional groups and individuals, spanning cultures and time zones, marked International Women's Day yesterday with salutes, themes of solidarity and special programs, many of which will continue throughout the week and month, embracing the 20201 theme, "Choose to Challenge," which recognizes and honors women's achievements worldwide, The Optical Women's Association (OWA) will be hosting a virtual event tomorrow, March 10, #ChooseToChallenge Through Connection, featuring keynote speaker Erin O'Malley at 6:30 p.m. CT/ 7:30 p.m. ET. Registration is open to current and prospective OWA members, at no charge, Zoom links will be sent to participants who register. Details are here.

Using her “Connection Framework,” Erin will highlight what happens to one's authority when women overuse the word “sorry.” She will talk about how to practice and embrace receiving praise from others, and emphasize why OWA’s core values of connect, lead, and inspire are just what we need to take on the #choosetochallenge theme.

OWA has also been marketing International Women’s Day with the launch of their #ChoosetoChallenge digital social media campaign where they are celebrating the many achievements women have made in the eyecare industry and highlighting them on their social media page throughout the month of March. Using the hashtag #ChoosetoChallenge and tagging @opticalwomen, they are encouraging women in the eyecare community to post a photo of themselves and share an accomplishment they are most proud of. They can also tag up to five other optical women to inspire them to take the challenge as well.