Celebrate International Women’s Day with Principal®

Art is a thread that connects us. Art, in all its forms, has the distinct power to bring us together in community, provoking important conversations that transcend differences and create a force for positive change. In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month 2024, Principal® Financial Group, along with three Greater Des Moines (DSM)-based community organizations, will use the art of storytelling to frame a conversation around International Women’s Day global theme: inspire inclusion.

About the Inspire Inclusion Event

Consistent with the Principal® commitment to valuing women and expanding access, this event will celebrate the resourcefulness and camaraderie of women, highlight the important role women have played in society — both now and throughout history — and inspire us to come together for continued progress. We’re thrilled to open our doors for members of the community to join us in the Principal auditorium for this important conversation in collaboration with Chrysalis Foundation, Iowa Women’s Foundation and Women Lead Change, who are each deeply committed to advancing women in our community.

Authors Shaunna J. Edwards and Alyson Richman will discuss their novel, The Thread Collectors, an unforgettable story of female strength and perseverance, during a fireside chat moderated by Suzanna de Baca of Business Publications Corporation. Edwards and Richman are longtime friends who loosely threaded the stories of their respective family histories into this work of historical fiction. Both felt the unique perspectives of the women in the novel’s time period needed to be part of our modern dialogue.

The Thread Collectors is the interwoven stories of two women who are risking everything for love and freedom during the Civil War. Stella, a Black woman in New Orleans, embroiders maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee the South to join the Union Army. Lily, a Jewish woman in New York City, stitches quilts for her husband and other Union soldiers stationed in Louisiana. A chance encounter brings together the two women who couldn’t be more different. What happens next is an inspiring example of the resilience and strength that is found when we come together.

I hope you’ll join us as we weave, ravel and stitch together the threads that connect us in celebration of all women. Register for the event via Eventbrite, taking place Thursday, March 7. Pre-registration is required.

Principal community relations supports the communities where affiliates of the Principal Financial Group®, Des Moines, IA 50392 operates. Insurance products and plan administrative services provided through Principal Life Insurance Company®, a member of the Principal Financial Group, Des Moines, IA 50392. 3395581-022024

From Pride to Juneteenth to the Latino Heritage Festival, big, inclusive events are par for the course in Greater Des Moines (DSM). But there are smaller events celebrating diversity here, too. Attend one of the Greater Des Moines Partnership’s Multicultural Receptions, an event celebrating veterans or a sensory-friendly event in the region. Learn more here.