This International Women's Day, March 8, Amazon is celebrating the extraordinary women-owned small businesses and authors working with Amazon every day. From the founders creating jobs in their communities to the writers making space for marginalized characters, these inspiring entrepreneurs are persevering through both ordinary and unexpected challenges to champion a better future for all.
Amazon provides women around the globe with entrepreneurial opportunities across retail, delivery and transportation, books and publishing, and technology. More than half of the items purchased in Amazon's store are sold by third-party sellers, and during the COVID-19 pandemic from April 2020 to January 2021, Amazon sellers have seen a 55% year-over-year growth in sales. We're thrilled to know women business owners have participated in this growth. In response to a recent Amazon poll, 48% of businesses selling in our US store said their companies are women-owned.
To celebrate these women-owned businesses on International Women's Day, Amazon is teaming up with Diane von Furstenberg for the second year in a row—but this time, it's global. The women's empowerment icon and nine other influential women from around the world are coming together to celebrate and spotlight women-owned small businesses growing with Amazon in the U.S., India, Spain, France, Italy, Canada, and beyond.
Support women-owned small businesses
Customers can check out our International Women's Day webpage to discover the stories and products of 20 inspiring women who are working with Amazon to grow their businesses, including small-business sellers, authors, Alexa developers, and Delivery Service Partners. Customers can also shop products from women-owned businesses handpicked by Diane von Furstenberg, Mindy Kaling, and Keke Palmer.
Connect with Diane von Furstenberg, Priyanka Chopra, and Mindy Kaling on Amazon Live
On International Women's Day, customers can connect with von Furstenberg on Amazon Live for a livestreaming, candid conversation about entrepreneurship, the unique challenges women face, and the impact we make when we champion and support women and women-owned small businesses.
Von Furstenberg will lead the conversation, answer questions from viewers, and introduce customers to her new book, "Own It: The Secret to Life," a book that empowers aspiring leaders with anecdotes and advice from von Furstenberg's own journey to the top. She will be joined by fellow advocates and dynamic female voices, Priyanka Chopra and Mindy Kaling, as well as three inspiring women-owned small businesses working with Amazon—all sharing how "Own It" resonates with their lived experiences, the women who inspire them, and how they have embodied Amazon's International Women's Day motto of Challenge. Champion. Change. Customers will be able to learn more about the women-owned businesses and shop their products through the carousel located alongside the stream.
Discover items curated by Camila Alves McConaughey, created by women Makers
Amazon Handmade is teaming up with Camila Alves McConaughey, Founder of Women of Today, to celebrate International Women’s Day and National Women’s Month with a curated Amazon Handmade storefront featuring handcrafted items by women-owned businesses. Within the experience, customers can also discover Camila’s curated collection featuring exclusive Amazon Handmade products created by women Makers. From jewelry and home goods to wooden sculpture planters and skin care, the selection highlights beautiful and thoughtful gifts that also support and empower women in business.
The dedicated Handmade storefront also highlights four women Makers and their unique stories: Grace Morgan of Grace of Melanin, Jessi Melendez of SITOS, Ekaterina Shovheia of BYKET and Ruby Hong of BeetsAndApples. Later this month, the storefront will feature four additional women Makers: April Budney of Old Whaling Company, Ana Caputo of SIFRIMANIA, Jenny Wong-Stanley of Art of Plants, and Happiness Akaniro of Happiness International.
Champion inspirational women throughout Women's History Month with Amazon
In addition to our partnership with von Furstenberg to lift the voices and stories of women-owned companies working with Amazon, there are a variety of ways to celebrate and champion women on International Women's Day and throughout Women's History Month with Amazon.
- Hear from Amazon’s leaders in charge of our some our biggest and most exciting business, and partners who are driving innovation as entrepreneurs in fields including publishing and logistics. Tune in to the series of LinkedIn Live panels hosted on Amazon's LinkedIn page, starting at 8:30 a.m. PST on International Women’s Day.
- Amazon Music's global catalog music brand, [RE]DISCOVER, has launched a host of new playlists to shine a light on iconic female artists who have made an indelible mark on the music we know and love today. Each week, customers will find themed playlists for provocateurs, boundary pushers, storytellers, vocalists and more, featuring artists such as Billie Holiday, Loretta Lynn, Carole King, Gloria Estefan, and Tina Turner.
- Listen to two new playlists, including The New Trailblazers, which highlights the next wave of female artists breaking new ground, and Hall of Femme, a cross-genre playlist filled with rule breakers, game changers, and power players in music. This month, customers will be able to listen to new Amazon Original songs only available on Amazon Music from a host of inspiring creators, such as indie-pop duo Sylvan Esso with a reimagined version of their track "HSKT" (March 4), vocalist and guitarist Brittany Howard's rousing cover of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson (March 8), and singer-songwriter Alex Lahey's take on Faith Hill's "This Kiss" (March 19).
- Join TOKiMONSTA, Tygapaw, REZZ and more on International Women's Day (March 8) as they discuss their experiences as top artists in the EDM space followed by a viewing of their recent film, "Underplayed," at 9 p.m. PST only on the Amazon Music Twitch channel. Beginning March 8, Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music HD subscribers will also be able to watch the film in the Amazon Music mobile app for a limited time, as well as on Amazon Prime Video at no additional cost to Prime members.
- To hear a variety of playlists honoring musical inspirations and heroes across multiple genres, simply say, "Alexa, play Music for Women's History Month" and "Alexa, play Music for International Women's Day" in the Amazon Music mobile app for iOS and Android, or on enabled devices.
- AWS, in collaboration with visual artist Aurélia Durand, will release a series of inspiring illustrations that tell the story of AWS through the perspective of 30 fearless women leaders from around the world who are innovating the future of cloud computing at AWS. Durand's work proudly portrays and celebrates diversity, drawing attention to the need for a more inclusive way of representing today's society. Visit the AWS Careers Site to learn more.
- Customers can discover the women behind some of Amazon Launchpad's innovative products on Amazon Launchpad's Women-Owned: Meet the Launchers page. Featured small businesses include imagiLabs, a company that created a smart accessory and app to help girls learn to code, as well as EQUO , a brand that creates eco-friendly solutions to replace single-use plastics. Amazon Launchpad is a program that helps new brands, entrepreneurs, and startups overcome many of the challenges associated with launching new products so they can focus their attention on new innovations, expansion, and what's next for their business.
- Starting March 1, Prime Video will feature a dedicated landing page with a curated selection of titles to honor both International Women’s Day and Women's History Month. Under the theme of Women Who Dare, the collection will highlight women actors, producers, writers, and filmmakers who dare to make us laugh, dare to love, and dare to change the world. See the entire collection. www.amazon.com/womenshistorymonth
