*This blog originally appeared on eBayinc.com

At eBay, we celebrate the achievements of women everywhere and strive every day to provide opportunities to advance gender equality around the world. International Women’s Day (IWD) is a collective moment every year for us to further commemorate the social, economic and cultural success of women — while also raising awareness around the progress still needed to accelerate gender equality. This year, IWD’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge, driven by the idea that from challenging gender bias comes change in creating a more inclusive world.

We recently kicked off our new Female Sneakerhead program to toast to the growing prominence of women in the sneakerhead community and shine a stronger spotlight around their voices and stories. Starting on International Women’s Day, an exclusive collaboration with Esther Wallace of Playa Society will be available at justsneakerhead.com, which will feature limited-edition female sneakerhead merchandise, including T-shirts, hoodies and socks. 

The idea behind the campaign name — particularly around the term “female sneakerhead” — is that, "being a sneakerhead is about hype, passion, style and self-expression — not about gender. Yet inclusivity and visibility for women is sometimes missing from the culture," Esther said. "If you identify as a sneakerhead, it means that you can express yourself through sneakers. And if you're a woman who is a sneakerhead, you just want your self-expression to be respected, well-represented and unlimited in sneaker culture.” 

The Female Sneakerhead program launch is part of our month-long celebration at eBay in highlighting the sneaker industry's top category trailblazers and influencers on our marketplace. Later this month, an exclusive sneaker drop of over 2,200 pairs of collectible sneakers will be available on eBay in partnership with Chicks with Kicks. 

Our eBay platform has long been barrier-breaking in helping level the playing field for people across all backgrounds and geographies, where millions of people can connect every day. Our core purpose is to create opportunity for all and to empower people to further realize their dreams. To further celebrate International Women’s Day today and throughout Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting several of the women eBay sellers, buyers and employees who have risen to an array of challenges and are emblematic of our broader eBay community. 

Creating a New Career and Lifestyle: U.K. Seller Victoria Eagle

Many women have shared how the ability to balance work and life — as well as to determine their own paths to success — has been challenging, but eBay’s contributions are helping them to thrive. Seller Victoria Eagle, of eBay store Pegs and Pearls, left a retail management position after having a child, not wanting to juggle both a young child and a demanding job. Suffering from postpartum depression, Victoria turned her personal love for design and art into a bespoke stationery business on eBay. Now, nine years later, Victoria is equally proud of her flourishing at-home business based in Hertfordshire, England, and the two children she’s been able to spend so much time with over the years. 

“My business has changed my whole life,” Victoria says. “It’s let me be the mum I always wanted to be, and it gives me a flexibility and freedom in my life that I never had before. And eBay is the platform that has allowed me to have that.”

Balancing Work and Family: eBay Employee Uma Achutha

Others have found their own balance from within the company. Senior Technical Product Manager Uma Achutha started at eBay’s San Jose, California, headquarters 17 years ago with a newborn at home and lofty goals at work. She has stayed and progressed her career to a management level because of the healthy work-life integration she achieved at the company — in tandem with her commitment to and interest in technology. Now, she empowers other women and girls in STEM fields to find their own pathways to success. 

“Be passionate, bold and fearless,” she said when asked for career tips. “Most importantly, believe in yourself and always challenge the status quo.”

Shaping a Career Around Vintage Toy Organs: U.S. Musician Molly Joyce

Then, there are women who have found innovative ways as buyers to springboard to higher levels with eBay sellers providing them with items to do so, aligning both their passions and professions. Molly Joyce, a musician and composer based in Fairfield, Connecticut, merges her journey of self-identity with her disability from childhood. “My work is concerned with disability as a creative source,” she said. “I want to make accessibility not as an add-on or afterthought, but an integral, aesthetic part of the performance.” 

Molly’s work centers around her 1960s vintage toy organ, an instrument that Molly found on eBay. “The organ parallels my journey with my disability, that you might see it at first as limited in what it can do,” she said. “But it opened up a whole new world for me.”  

All of these women’s stories are as individual as they are. And each of them has found their own definition of success — and ones that we are proud to share.