Women Month Magic Show: Marking March for the First Time

Women Month Magic Show: Marking March for the First Time

Plenty of organizations have never marked March, and then somebody decides this is the year. There's no network, no history, no budget line, and no precedent, and whoever raised it has usually been handed the job of making it happen.

That's a reasonable position to start from. I'm Magical Katrina, an award winning magician and mentalist, and I want to set out how to approach a first women month magic show or anything else for March, when nobody in the organization has done this before.

Ask the Women First

Start here, since skipping it is the commonest first time mistake. An event designed by a committee of people who thought it was a good idea, without asking the women it's for, produces something well meant and occasionally wrong.

Ask a handful of women across the organization what they'd actually find worthwhile, including whether they'd want anything at all. Some will have strong views, some will be indifferent, and a few will tell you about something structural that matters more than an event. All of that is useful before you book anything.

Do One Thing Properly

The principle for a first year. The instinct is a program: a week of sessions, a panel, a speaker, and something social, which is a great deal of work for a committee that doesn't exist yet.

One genuinely good thing beats four adequate ones, and it's achievable by whoever is doing this alongside their actual job. It also sets a sustainable precedent, since next year's organizer has to match what you did. A modest first year that went well is a considerably better foundation than an ambitious one nobody could repeat.

Don't Let It Become a Permanent Obligation

Worth thinking about early. A first event creates an expectation, and the person who organized it is frequently assumed to own it indefinitely.

Decide at the outset whether this is a one off, an annual commitment, or an experiment, and say so. If you want it to continue, agree who owns it and whether they get any time for it. Plenty of first year efforts become nobody's job in year two, which is how organizations end up with a gap that looks like going backwards.

Avoid the Earnest Trap

Worth knowing, since first attempts frequently over correct towards worthiness. A session about barriers and progression is a legitimate choice and it attracts the people who already care, which at a first event means a small self selected room.

Something people would attend on its own terms reaches considerably more of the organization, and the theme arrives with it. A women month magic show works that way: it's worth attending regardless, and a woman doing something technically demanding in a field that's been overwhelmingly male carries the point without a presentation about it.

Get Somebody Senior Behind It

Practically decisive for a first event. With no history, people don't know whether this is a real organizational thing or something a few colleagues arranged, and a senior person attending visibly answers that.

Ask specifically, with a date, and ask them to stay rather than appear. It costs nothing and it determines whether your first event is treated as legitimate, which matters more in year one than any amount of promotion. It also makes a budget conversation easier next year.

Keep the Claims Small

Worth getting right, since overclaiming at a first event invites skepticism that's hard to recover from. An hour doesn't change progression, pay, or culture, and describing it as though it might produces exactly the eye rolling you're trying to avoid.

Describe it as what it is: something worth attending, marking an occasion the organization hasn't marked before. That's modest, true, and considerably more persuasive to a skeptical audience than a statement about commitment to change.

Expect Some Resistance

Worth anticipating rather than being surprised by. Somebody will ask why there isn't an equivalent for men, somebody will think it's performative, and somebody will be quietly unenthusiastic.

None of that needs a confrontation. A short honest answer, an event that's genuinely good, and no grand claims handle most of it. First events attract more scrutiny than established ones precisely because they're new, and the best response is something people enjoyed rather than an argument.

Write Down What Happened

The thing that makes a second year possible. Attendance, a few specific responses, what you spent, how long it took you, and what you'd change.

That page is what gets a budget next time and what stops the next organizer starting from nothing. It takes twenty minutes while it's fresh, and it's the single most useful thing a first time organizer can leave behind. Most don't, which is why so many organizations have done this once and can't remember how.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should we start?

By asking a handful of women across the organization what they'd find worthwhile, including whether they'd want anything at all. An event designed by people who thought it was a good idea, without asking, produces something well meant and occasionally wrong, and the answers frequently point at something more useful than an event.

Should we plan a whole week?

No, since one genuinely good thing beats four adequate ones and is achievable by somebody doing this alongside their job. It also sets a sustainable precedent, because next year's organizer has to match what you did, and a modest first year that went well is a better foundation than an ambitious one nobody can repeat.

How do we avoid being stuck with it forever?

Decide at the outset whether it's a one off, an annual commitment, or an experiment, and say so. If you want it to continue, agree who owns it and whether they get time for it, since plenty of first year efforts become nobody's job in year two, which looks like going backwards.

What kind of event works best first time?

Something people would attend on its own terms, since a session about barriers attracts those who already care and produces a small self selected room. A women month magic show is worth attending regardless, and the theme arrives with the performer rather than in the invitation.

Does senior support matter?

More in year one than any other year, since with no history people don't know whether this is a real organizational thing or something a few colleagues arranged. Ask somebody senior specifically, with a date, and ask them to stay rather than appear.

How should we describe it?

Modestly and accurately, since an hour doesn't change progression, pay, or culture, and describing it as though it might produces exactly the eye rolling you're trying to avoid. Something worth attending, marking an occasion the organization hasn't marked before, is true and more persuasive.

What if people push back?

Expect it, since somebody will ask why there's no equivalent for men and somebody will think it's performative. None of it needs a confrontation: a short honest answer, an event that's genuinely good, and no grand claims handle most of it, since first events attract more scrutiny precisely because they're new.

What should we do afterwards?

Write a page: attendance, a few specific responses, what you spent, how long it took, and what you'd change. That's what gets a budget next time and stops the next organizer starting from nothing. It takes twenty minutes and most people don't do it.

Start Small and Write It Down

A first March doesn't need a program, a committee, or a statement of commitment. It needs somebody to ask the women in the organization what would be worthwhile, to do one thing properly rather than four things thinly, to get a senior person into the room, to claim nothing beyond what an hour can do, and to write down what happened.

A women month magic show suits a first year because it's worth attending on its own terms, which means the room isn't only the people who already cared, and the point arrives without anybody having to make it.

Reach out if you're planning a first one, and I'm glad to talk about what would suit your organization.