Celebrating International Women’s Day
Posted: 06.03.26
- By Victoria Puckering
This Sunday 8th March marks International Women’s Day, and it's a moment to celebrate the achievements, resilience and influence of women across our communities, workplaces and history. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the experiences that shape strength, leadership and wellbeing.
Fatima Whitbread MBE powerfully reminds us:
“Strength is not the absence of struggle — it is what is forged through it.”
Growing up in the care system, Fatima often felt unseen and uncertain of her place in the world. Her early life was marked by rejection, instability and doubt. Yet rather than allowing those experiences to define her, she used them to build resilience.
For Fatima, strength was built through the quiet decisions — the choice to keep going, to keep believing and to continue showing up even when circumstances felt difficult.
Her story reminds us that adversity can shape us in powerful ways. While challenges may look different in modern life, the principle remains the same: adversity can either shrink you or sharpen you. Fatima chose to let it sharpen her.
Today, she dedicates much of her work to ensuring that vulnerable young people understand their circumstances are not their ceiling.
Her message is simple but powerful: Hope is powerful. Belief is transformative
Every woman carries strength she may not yet realise. Many influential women throughout history have spoken about courage, equality and perseverance.
💬 Inspiring World From Remarkable Women...
Eleanor Roosevelt once said: “A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water.”
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks reminded us: “You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.”
Education advocate Malala Yousafzai said: “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”
Former First Lady Michelle Obama encourages women everywhere: “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.”
Mother of The Salvation Army, Catherine Booth encouraged women to stay true to their faith, resilience and determination by saying: "The waters are rising, but so am I. I am not going under, but over."
🔦 SATCoL's Very Own Spotlight...
International Women’s Day is also an opportunity to celebrate the women within our own company, SATCoL (Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd.) who lead with purpose, integrity and determination, and this is no truer than for our Head of HR & Training, Sarah Trivett.
Sarah knew from a young age that she wanted to work in HR — or “personnel,” as it was known at the time. With a clear sense of direction, she focused on building the skills and experience needed to achieve that goal.
She completed her degree and gained invaluable work experience early in her career. Later in life, while raising young children, she completed her Level 7 CIPD qualification, ensuring she continued to grow professionally and prepare for future opportunities.
Sarah credits much of her journey to determination, planning and the support of her family. Flexible and part-time working arrangements were especially important when her children were young, allowing her to balance both family life and career progression — long before hybrid working became common.
💌 Encouraging Our Colleagues...
At SATCoL, we are marking International Women’s Day by inviting our colleagues to pause and reflect on their experiences, journeys and ways they can uplift their colleagues.
We encourage our colleagues to take a moment today to recognise a woman who has positively influenced their work or wellbeing. To support this, we launched a brand new recognition 'eCard' for colleagues to use internally during, recognising that small messages of appreciation can make a meaningful difference in a workplace.
