International Women's Day 2025

In today’s modern world, initiating change can be done through the simple action of tapping on a button on social media to proliferate a certain message we seek to convey. Gone are the days when championing a cause was a long-drawn process of manually organising events to make our voices heard. With the availability of technology, we are empowered to be the makers of our own destinies—to be the mouthpiece of our culture, nationality and race to incite change and make a difference.

For this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), at Forvis Mazars in Singapore, we believe that honouring the social, economic, and cultural achievements of women should not be confined to a single day. Instead, we embarked on a month-long celebration throughout March, championing well-being as a catalyst for empowerment through an array of in-house activities as well as engagement with the local community.

With mental wellness prevalent in our society, particularly with the peak of audit coinciding with IWD, we kickstarted the month highlighting the importance of one’s own well-being through specially curated mini self-care packs. In these care packs contained aromatic teas from a local tea brand, The Tea Story, along with watercolour pads and paint brushes. Through this small initiative, we sought to provide our staff—regardless of gender—a respite from the hustle and bustle of life and moments of pause as they sip a calming brew while unleashing their creativity in colour.

Our partners and colleagues across different cultures and races gathered together to embody the theme of “Accelerating Action”, proclaiming a bold step forward in accelerating progress towards gender equality.

On 8 March 2025, a few of our colleagues joined forces with several other companies to raise awareness on “Saying No to Violence against Women”, an event hosted by Zonta Club in Singapore, a non-profit organisation. This initiative served as a reinforcement of our strong belief to support underserved young women in the community, stemming from our previous engagement with the organisation last year through summit for a cause. The event commenced with a punch needle workshop, where participants played a part in creating their unique pieces, which were used to form a completed embroidery to be displayed at Singapore’s Institute of Mental Health (IMH). A fireside chat followed after where critical issues including mental wellness and a critical stop to violence against women were discussed. This event served as a powerful reminder that progress begins with awareness, empathy, and a collective action—and we remain steadfast in our commitment to partnering with the local community to raise awareness of the key issues women face in society. 

Featuring a few of our colleagues and their punch needle artworks—exemplifying a collective action to raise awareness on “Saying No to Violence against Women”.

Commemorating the achievements of women does not stop here.

For many of us, our careers form one of the main cornerstones of our identity—inevitably, it shapes and moulds us through life experiences and our daily interaction with people across all walks of life. Recognising its significance, we weaved in a unique dialogue session with a seasoned 14-year recruitment expert in the accounting and finance sector, Ms Mindy Liew-Pennington. Hosted by our Financial Advisory Partner, Ellyn Tan, this insightful dialogue focused on career guidance and mentorship, addressing key questions many women face in their professional journeys. By sharing valuable advice through real-world experiences, this platform provided practical strategies to empower our colleagues to overcome common challenges faced in the workplace, foster personal growth and a renewed perspective on how to tackle similar situations in the future.

Our Financial Advisory partner, Ellyn Tan (in the middle in blue), along with Ms Mindy Liew-Pennington (beside her in black) commemorating their insightful dialogue session on career guidance and mentorship.

This  month, we celebrated women’s social, economic, and cultural achievements while championing well-being as a foundation for progress. Through our engagement in a variation of impactful initiatives, we amplify and highlight the need to accelerate action—bringing our words to life to create meaningful change in our local communities.

Rounding up the month-long celebration, we engaged Her Rise Above (HRA),  a non-profit organisation driven by female volunteers to conduct a “Paint and Pot” workshop. HRA accelerates action by empowering women entrepreneurs with the skills and resources to overcome financial obstacles and build thriving businesses—creating ripple effects of change for families and communities. 

A successful end of our month-long IWD celebration with a hands-on “Paint and Pot” workshop!

Partaking in the activity of painting personalised pots and potting succulents was not just a creative break—it was a deliberate step to accelerate well-being, connection, and inclusivity in our workplace. By partnering with HRA for this workshop, we were intentional in supporting their mission while fostering a space for our colleagues to recharge, reinforcing the importance of mental wellness.

IWD has gone beyond celebrating the rights of women on a day packed with the rich history of stellar accomplishments, it now holds a deeper significance—a reminder of our roots and tireless path we have carved out for ourselves, with new successes that await us beyond the near horizon.