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101st International Women's day

Last year was the 100^th anniversary of the first International Women's Day. In 2012, on March 8th, we will therefore be celebrating the 101^st Women's dayworldwide.

It is an important way to honor women and what they have accomplished, as well as what they yet have to achieve - Women's Day is also a way of warning the world population of injustice and inequalities towards women, as well as violence and prejudice towards what they call 'the weak sex'.

And yet, the world is filled with strong, powerful women - Women's Day is for all of these women.

Exceptional women

Did you know that the Spanish entity of the largest fast-food chain in the world, McDonald's, has a woman as a CEO? And a young woman, at that! At 38 years of age, Patricia Abril is in charge of 365 restaurants and 18 000 of the Spanish grounds, as well as a husband and two children...

Carmen Almagro, from Granada, another successful woman, was the first to take the initiative to export The Body Shop to Spain, after having understood the enormous potential of that, at the time, fairly young brand. She is today, 26 years later, one of the richest and most respected women in Spain, at the age of 60. 

Do not forget that the original creator of The Body Shop was a woman herself, Anita Roddick, who launched her now international brand un the UK in 1952 - The Body Shop now has 2000 shops in 49 countries.

It was a woman, also, at the head of one of the most important banks in Spain: Banesto (Banco Español de Credito). Ana Patricia Botin is now head of the mother corporation of that same bank, Grupo Santander, which owns among others, Mexican bank Serfin, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Belgium bank of Fortis.

Other successful Spanish women

There are many other remarkable Spanish women managing giant multinational companies:

• - Isabel Aguilera,
  president of General Electric España and ex-CEO of Google España, NH Hoteles, HP España and Dell Computer España


• - Eva Castillo,
  manager of Telefónica (the national phone company in Spain), and previously in charge of Meryl Lunch in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. 


• - Maria Garaña,
  president of Microsoft Iberia.

Celebrate Women's Day

However it is not necessary to conquer the business world to be an amazing woman. We all know one: our mother, sister, friend or lover, our grand-mothers, aunts or even bosses, they are all wonderful and deserve to be appreciated and loved, whether in a café in Paris, an office in New York or a flat in Barcelona. 

Celebrate Women's Day with the one you love most.