Over the last 100 years, women in many countries secured labour rights and protection from violence, access to sexual and reproductive health, and political rights to reach the highest positions of leadership. No doubt, International Women’s Day, which is marked annually on March 8, is a global event to celebrate and support women’s rights, while calling for more gender equality. This day is a chance for everyone, to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities.

For another consecutive year, one of Malta’s leading companies, GasanZammit Motors Ltd. is proud to have celebrated and commemorated this day. For the past consecutive years, the management team at the automotive and marine company celebrated International Women’s Day with its female employees, as part of its ongoing corporate and social responsibility strategy. At GasanZammit, the female staff members are another vital quality, which contributes to the success of the company hence the International Women’s Day is an opportunity to show the firm’s appreciation and thankfulness for their hard work and dedication.

The Director of Marketing at GasanZammit Motors Ltd, Mrs Carolyn Zammit said that this year, the company partnered with several female-lead NGOs to empower women across many different areas which impact women, amongst of which being health, entrepreneurship & education and domestic violence.

“We are proud to say that this time round, we opted for a collaboration with four different female entities, those being the Migrant’s Women Association, The Action for Breast Cancer Foundation, The National Council for Women and St. Jeanne Antide Foundation & Project SOAR, as a sign of gratefulness by GasanZammit at the hard work being performed by these NGOs. Moreover, through our appreciation act, we want to highlight the strength of women, the beauty in diversity, and the steps we’ve all taken in this positive direction,” said Mrs Zammit.

The Migrant’s women association, through their project Sahha, provided their support by baking Ghraybeh, a traditional Middle Eastern shortbread. The baked goods were produced with the help of The Pod at Carob Tree. These were distributed to the other aforementioned female NGOs, together with a cash donation on Women’s Day, in an unusual way. Six representatives from GasanZammit, drove all over Malta in a fleet of Mazda vehicles to hand-deliver these donations and to thank the members of these respective NGOs for their dedication and work to help other women in our society.

“Surely this was a wonderful experience for us at GasanZammit, and we truly enjoyed meeting these people. However, it was obvious, that all these NGOs need further assistance to sustain and continue their efforts in helping more women. While encouraging actions and behaviours that help drive diversity and inclusion, I also want to encourage more businesses to support such NGOs in reaching their goals. When doing so, we will be protecting the environment and improving people’s lives,” said Mrs Zammit.