Happy International Women’s Day!

It’s been 110 years since the first women’s day, and it is amazing to see how far the world has come since then. Since that first “day of observance” there has been drastic progress in the lives and opportunities for women (primarily in the West). But as recent years have shown us, there is much more work to be done!

Every year on International Women’s Day, March 8th, we recognize and celebrate the social progress and advancements of women all around the globe. In some countries it has become a national holiday, celebrated with a day off of work, gifting women with mimosa flowers, or a public march!

Over the last decade, themes have been chosen to focus the conversation on a single topic. Last year’s “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”, clearly inspired many women around the globe to speak up against the lack of equality, but also the harassment they received by men in power. Movements like Time’s Up and Me Too are changing the dialogue across all industries about gender equality and respect in the workplace.

This year’s theme is Press for Progress! Now, more than ever, there’s a strong call-to-action to use our voices, followers, and listeners to help progress women forward; motivating and uniting friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.

Luckily, this has never been a problem for GrubMarket. I sat down with Chako Fairbanks, current VP of Operations and former co-founder of FarmBox LA. Here’s what she had to say about being a #GirlBoss, our awesome and inclusive team, and our supportive work culture.

GrubMarket LA’s fearless leader Chako, cooking a Thanksgiving meal, November 2017.

When Reisha and I started FarmBox we were one of the first online farmers market and grocery in the United States. Yes, of course we were proud to be a woman-owned company, but we didn’t let that define us. We wanted the quality of our food, and the important work we were doing (helping farmers) to really speak for us. As our business grew and grew, farmers stayed the forefront of our mission and marketing, but we didn’t hide that we were women, either. We kept going about our work, and hoped it inspired other women who were on the fence to start their own company to just go for it. Years later we were acquired by GrubMarket and I’m proud to say a workplace culture of equality and respect amongst all genders remains the same.

What I’ve noticed in my 10+ years of commercial business, is that men tend to have more confidence and push farther ahead, even when under-qualified, while women tend to hold back and self-doubt, even if they’re super overqualified! I know this is a social trait learned over thousands of years we’re dealing with… but we, women and men, must push each other to overcome it and change it for the next generation. We all need to encourage and push one another to always go beyond the wall in front of us – whether that’s over, around or punch straight through it! I think it’s in women’s nature to play-it-safe, but that just doesn’t work in business. I love that our team sees each other’s strengths and pushes everyone, male and female, to believe in themselves and take on new challenges!

The women at GrubMarket are badasses. We are foodies, rock climbers, world travelers, snowboarders and did I say foodies?! We are a passionate group of smart, strong, compassionate, adventurous women. All of us are go-getters, not to mention jet-setters! We’re a team of world-travel nerds, 67% of us have lived abroad, and 85% of us speak a 2^nd (and some superstars, a 3^rd language).  But what I love most about our ladies, is that we all push ourselves to be our best.

Also, male and female, and anyone who identifies somewhere in-between. We really have a gender neutral work space. In an industry (food, farming, and grocery) that is totally male-dominated, we just want passionate, honest workers, no matter what gender. We created our superstar team by opening the door to everyone and letting the best candidate get the job. No matter what gender, we’ve found the most passionate group who really care about getting it right.

Just like hiring… when we try a new product or farm, we chose who to support based on taste, quality, ethics, and sustainability, not gender. However, we are super proud to support the following women-owned businesses!

Brooke  – Made with Love Wellness

Helga – Zeiglers Sausage

Linda – Smart Simple Gourmet

Patricia – Grab Green Cleaning Products

Catherine – EOS Bars

Elizabeth & Erica – The Ultimate Meatball Co.

Alexis – Because Cookie Dough

Julie & Margaret – Greenwood Jam

Laurel and Claire – Sweet Laurel Bakery

Leah – Semolina Pasta

Sylvia – Blessed Farm

Maricela – Gaytan Family Farm

Diane – Lily’s Eggs

Marcie – Jimenez Family Farm

Gloria – Tamai Family Farm

Leticia – Garcia Farm

Molly – Harry’s Berries

Maryann – Coastal Farms

Leah & Stephanie – Awesome Bars

 Valerie – Spread the Love

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