By Asia Nail
The Truth Reporter
On March 10, the Glass City Center will be filled with business leaders, policymakers, donors and community partners for International Women’s Day, but this year’s luncheon will do more than celebrate. Hosted by Women of Toledo, the event will confront a question many families quietly wrestle with every day: Why do workplace systems still struggle to reflect the realities of caregiving?
The program will feature a cross-sector panel that mirrors the complexity of the issue itself. Panelists include Abby Arnold, Deputy Mayor of the City of Toledo; Greg Braylock, Vice President of Strategic Integration at ProMedica; Scot Hinshaw of Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick and President of Toledo Rotary; and Navdeep Karamchandani, Co-owner and Catering Diirector of Balance. Together, they bring perspectives from government, healthcare, law, and hospitality to parenthood itself.
Kristian Brown 13 ABC News Anchor, will emcee the luncheon, and entrepreneur and life coach Amy Hall will moderate the panel discussion, guiding what organizers hope will be a candid, solutions-driven conversation.
This year’s theme — Reimagining the Systems that Shape Care, Culture, and Community — signals urgency. It invites the region’s decision-makers not just to applaud progress, but to examine policy, workplace norms and economic structures with clear eyes.
The Layers We Carry
Caregiving doesn’t fit neatly into a job title, yet it shapes nearly every working household.
It looks like a woman leaving the office to take her mom to her cardiology appointment. It looks like a dad taking a day off to attend a school meeting. It looks like a parent advocating for their child with special needs while trying to meet a deadline at work.
Jessica White, Women of Toledo’s (WOT) Program Manager, describes women as ‘layered’: professionals, caregivers, mentors and partners, often carrying multiple responsibilities at once.
Modern families live multi-layered lives. Yet many workplace systems still treat employees as if they live a one-dimensional existence built around fixed hours, uninterrupted schedules and minimal accommodation for life beyond the office.
Policies and procedures often assume employees can maintain regular, predictable routines. In reality, most employees navigate days that shift without warning, where school calls, medical appointments and family needs rarely fit neatly between nine and five.
“The systems are choosing a different path for us,” Whte explains. “And it’s just a harder fight.”
When maternity leave ends before recovery feels complete, when aging parents require advocacy at medical appointments, when therapy sessions and work deadlines collide, employees often shoulder the strain quietly. The pressure builds like weight stacked unevenly on a shelf and eventually something shifts.
A Reality the Pandemic Exposed
The pandemic showed us that flexibility is possible. Companies transitioned to remote work within weeks. Video conferencing became commonplace. Work did not stop. In fact, many companies found that working remotely allowed productivity to flourish.
For a moment, many caregivers felt seen.
Unfortunately, flexibility in times of crisis is very different from flexibility as a long-term cultural shift.
Employees who are caregivers may request accommodations such as flexible scheduling, telecommuting days, and understandings regarding medical appointments. However, the responses to these requests vary greatly depending on the company or employer.
White shared her experience advocating for her mother during important medical appointments. While her mother is not elderly, White has taken an active role in supporting her care as she grows older. When appointments arise, she rearranges her workday, joins meetings virtually when possible and uses personal time strategically to ensure her mother receives the attention and advocacy she needs.
The appointments may belong to her mother, but White willingly carries the responsibility.
That quiet labor defines caregiving for millions.
Allyship at the Table
For the first time, WOT’s International Women’s Day luncheon will include a panel of men. Men will join the previously female-only panel as representatives from law, healthcare, government, hospitality, and business.
White states the reasoning behind this choice is intentional, not accidental.
“You need an ally,” White says simply.
Women who advocate for workplace change often encounter stereotypes that undermine their credibility. Including male panelists affirms that caregiving is not a “women’s issue.” Fathers attend pediatric appointments. Sons manage decisions for aging parents. Male employees also navigate the tension between professional expectations and family obligations.
By intentionally including men on the panel, Women of Toledo models partnership rather than polarization. The conversation expands instead of narrowing.
This is the level of cooperation needed to change the culture of the workplace.
An Experience Designed to Move People
White wants luncheon attendees to remember more than talking points. She wants them to remember how the event felt.
Guests will enter through a hallway lined with full-scale posters, many bearing signatures, from past International Women’s Day celebrations, creating a powerful visual timeline of advocacy and impact. DJ Stevie Chanel will fill the space with magnetic music, setting an energizing tone, while familiar community faces welcome and greet attendees.
Before the panel begins, organizers will debut testimonials from local caregivers. These stories from mothers, daughters, and professionals will set the tone.
Facts educate. Experiences resonate.
Hearing directly from caregivers transforms policy into lived reality. It moves the conversation from theory to action.
Educate. Engage. Empower.
The luncheon reflects Women of Toledo’s mission to educate, engage and empower.
It educates by elevating lived experiences alongside professional insight. It engages by bringing civic, corporate and nonprofit leaders into one shared space. It empowers by issuing a clear call to action.
Leaders and organizers are looking for guests to not only be inspired, but to take action after leaving the luncheon.
Even small changes can ease the pressure.
Through its “No Woman Left Behind” initiative, Women of Toledo ensures economic inclusion by allowing sponsors to pay for tickets for women who might not be able to afford them. They believe access to conversation and opportunity shouldn’t depend on someone’s financial situation.
Planting Seeds That Extend Beyond One Day
Workplaces resemble buildings constructed decades ago. Over time, families evolve. Technology advances. Economic pressures shift. If structures do not adapt, cracks appear.
Reimagining systems does not require demolition. It requires renovation, widening doorways, adjusting policies, and building flexibility into the framework.
On March 10, the Glass City Center will host more than a luncheon. It will host a reckoning with reality and a collective invitation to do better.
When the room empties, the conversation must continue in boardrooms, offices, council chambers and homes.
Because caregiving is not a side story in the workforce. It is woven into it.
And systems that acknowledge that truth will not weaken productivity, they will strengthen community.
Learn more about the 2026 International Women’s Day luncheon here