March 8 is International Women’s Day, and Facebook is choosing to celebrate both historic women and today’s females. In what was the most-talked-about day on the social network last year, Facebook will both celebrate women and history and boost modern women through a new tool for entrepreneurs, the #SheMeansBusiness Community Finder. Facebook joins other tech companies, including Google, launching new female-focused features for the global celebration.
Facebook users today will see a celebration of women in history through a Credit Her campaign, a move designed to give credit where credit is due on historic female firsts, from Billie Jean King to Big Momma Thornton. The campaign video will be available for views and shares at facebook.com/facebook.
Facebook users accessing the network from a mobile device will see options for cards, frames, and themed backgrounds, similar to the holiday graphics Facebook releases throughout the year. Users will see a message inviting them to share a card, text post, or image with the new graphics or can find the tools at facebook.com/iwd.
Facebook is also celebrating with a new tool for the #SheMeansBusiness program, which the company launched two years ago. The Community Finder is designed to help female entrepreneurs find community on Facebook. Women can select their country and a category — such as “mom entrepreneurs” or “women in tech” — and Facebook will display Groups or Pages in those categories.
Facebook says the Community Finder is designed to help women find a space to ask questions, seek out advice or find other business resources. The network shared several examples of just that, from the Supergirls group for women in Israel with nearly 90,000 members to women-led fundraisers.
Last year, International Women’s Day garnered the most discussion on Facebook compared to any other topic. The number of users sharing posts about the day recognizing women doubled from 2016, beating out the Super Bowl, which came in second for the most-discussed topic.
Google is taking a similar entrepreneurial approach to International Women’s Day. Inside Google Business, Google is adding an icon for women-led businesses. The icon will display and female-led businesses under the highlights, along with other icons like “trending,” “highly rated,” or “has Wi-Fi.” With the tool, Google is aiming to encourage support of women-owned businesses.
