International Women’s Day: Witness The Extraordinary

From everyday acts to world-changing events, VRAI champions women’s extraordinary stories of courage and strength this International Women’s Day.

From a global perspective, we witness the bravery of women in Iran who are fighting for more than just freedom and equality, but for their very lives. We also witness the extraordinary acts of the many women in our lives, including family, friends, and colleagues. This March 8th is a celebration of them all and their extraordinary actions. This is why we’ve taken a moment to sit down and speak with activist and actor Nazanin Boniadi as well as VRAI team members in order to share stories of the extraordinary things they’ve witnessed women do.

For those who honor International Women’s Day all throughout the month of March, our gift guide is here to celebrate the extraordinary women in your life with fine jewelry gifts for her that reflect her values and style.

What’s something extraordinary about you that we can celebrate?

“After 15 years of human rights advocacy for the people of my homeland Iran, I find them to be the extraordinary ones. I’m inspired by their resilience and tenacity everyday. And because of them, I’ve learned to use the most challenging moments in my life as motivation to grow and overcome.”

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #embraceequity — what does embracing equity look like to you?

“As Gandhi said “if you want to change the world, start with yourself.” In order to defeat systemic, patriarchal misogyny, women must work to unlearn any internalized misogyny and become true allies to other women. That doesn’t mean we can’t disagree with each other or hold each other to account in a civil and productive way, it simply means we must also find ways to cooperate and lift each other up, to bear witness and defend each other’s rights, to understand that there is more to be gained in advancing our common goals for equity and equality, and ensuring that we open doors for other women when we find ourselves in positions of power. I hope we continue to make big strides in this direction. Because as the women of Iran are showing us, there’s strength in unity.”

What’s something extraordinary about you that we can celebrate?

I'm an empathetic person who strives to inform the world about all the ways it's going wrong, and all the ways we can band together and make it right. I care about, and am affected deeply by, injustices in the world, and work as hard as I can to leave the world a better place than when I got here.

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #embraceequity — what does embracing equity look like to you?

Embracing equity, to me, means connecting to people with no assumptions. It means everyone starts off on equal footing, with equal opportunities. Embracing equity means women being treated as equals in the workforce. It means removing patriarchal societal pressures placed upon us, and allowing everyone to live freely as they wish, and removing judgment from that equation. Embracing equity means no double standards with how women, men, non-binary and all people are treated.

The Women Of VRAI

Team members we celebrate this International Women’s Day

What is extraordinary about women or what is something extraordinary you have witnessed women do?

“I have witnessed situations handled with absolute grace. It's more than taking the high road but truly looking for resolution in the face of absolute adversity and conflict.”

— Jennifer Chen, Director of People Operations

“Problem-solve. Sometimes a task seems absolutely impossible until you talk it out.”

— Grace Taylor, Senior Director of Sales & CX

“Many of my peers run their households and run their own businesses, and are often the main support for their families.”

— Leigh Stackpole, Diamond Expert

“Ladies, if you were asked to write a list of all the people you love in your life, how long would it take until you wrote your own name?Being selfless is something extraordinary that we perform regularly.”

— Camilla Vendrame, West Coast Regional Manager and Diamond Expert

“Personally, I most value the ever-pervasive resilience that I observe in the women I interact with everyday. I deeply value the unspoken bond that the majority of women have with one another as well. We recognize each other's struggles as our own and lift each other up, often without even having to be asked.”

— Jasmine Roberts, Diamond Expert

“Educators and medical professionals are extraordinary. Women running businesses and women raising children are extraordinary. Women in military service and women politicians fighting for our rights as women are extraordinary!”

— Gabrielle, New York Showroom Manager

What’s something extraordinary about you that we can celebrate?

“I don't think of myself as extraordinary, but a personal accomplishment I'm proud of is leaving the comfort of my home country and stabilizing myself alone, in a completely different country and speaking a different language, by my own perseverance and hard work.”

— Camilla Vendrame, West Coast Regional Manager and Diamond Expert

“I can comfortably say that my tenacity and passion for winning help me to push through difficult and challenging situations, even for others. I find that my will helps me where bravery would otherwise be lost. I attribute these traits to women in my family.”

— Jennifer Chen, Director of People Operations

“Everyday I try to make the world better by advocating for racial, social, and economic justice. However, what I am most proud of is raising my son as a single mother. He recently graduated from university with a degree in visual art.”

— Leigh Stackpole, Diamond Expert

“I’ve dreamed of being a writer since I was a child, and I am now able to support myself independently with the job of my dreams. This isn’t simply a celebration of my talents, but a celebration of all the people who came before me who created a world where girls can grow up and do what they love. That work isn’t finished, though — we’ve got to ensure that ALL children can pursue their dreams for generations to come.”

— Kimberly Zerkel, Content Editor

“I think that self-evolution is an inherently effeminate trait! Possessing the capacity and self awareness to evaluate your flaws and shortcomings while also acknowledging your unique strengths and value requires a yielding nature. You have to be able and willing to ebb and flow, to change and adjust as opposed to stagnating or forcing situations and reality to mold around us. This is something I strive towards daily and this ability is what I value most about myself, as a woman.”

— Jasmine Roberts, Diamond Expert

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #embraceequity — what does embracing equity look like to you?

“I think embracing equity means releasing stigmas. Too often books are judged by their covers without enough deference being given to their contents. On a global scale (for the most part) we're acknowledging chosen pronouns in the workplace, speaking openly about mental and emotional health and, relentlessly rejecting socio-economic norms that might be projected upon us. Instead we're making the brave choice to define ourselves on our own terms. Embracing equity means being brave enough to define yourself, on your own terms every day. By embracing and accepting my own complexities, I am able to do the same for those around me.”

— Jasmine Roberts, Diamond Expert

“Embracing equity looks like more men becoming true feminists by not only supporting women in the workplace or on the world stage, but supporting, listening to, and trusting women in their lives — their partners, family members, and friends. Embracing equity is on us ladies, as well — it means not being afraid to speak up, to advocate for ourselves, or to just take up space. Embracing equity requires stepping outside of our comfort zones.”

— Kimberly Zerkel, Content Editor

Witness The Extraordinary With VRAI

VRAI champions equality and justice for women year-round and celebrates women’s achievements continuously. But International Women’s Day in particular is an opportunity to look at the extraordinary feats women have already accomplished and what also lies ahead. Follow us on Instagram for a more in-depth look at how we are witnessing the extraordinary on this day and everyday.