Privacy policy

Last updated: October 2026

This policy explains what personal information we collect through internationalwomensday.com, how we use it, who we share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices and rights you have.

1. Data controller

This website is run by IWD Support Ltd, a company registered in England & Wales (company number 03979744). We are the data controller for personal information collected through the website, and are registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), registration reference Z2695681.

2. What we collect

Your account (when you register or update your account): first and last name, email address, password, account type, organisation, job title, country, and your email preferences.

Content you submit, for example speaker profiles, supplier directory listings, events, articles, statements, gallery images, and contribution content. This can include text, images and captions, weblinks, and any notes you send to the IWD team.

Messages you send us through contact forms or by email.

Payments: if you make a payment, the details needed to record it (such as name, email, amount and date). Card and bank details are handled by our payment providers, Stripe and PayPal; we do not see or store them.

Technical information: your IP address, browser type, and the pages you request, which our servers record for security and to fix errors. If you accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics also records how the site is used.

We don't ask for sensitive information (such as health, religion or ethnicity). Please don't include it in content you submit.

3. How we use it, and our legal basis

What we use it for	Legal basis
Creating and running your account, and providing the services you use on the site	Contract (providing the service you asked for)
Reviewing, publishing and managing content you submit	Contract, and the licence you grant in our Terms
Processing payments, and keeping financial records	Contract, and legal obligation (tax and accounting records)
Replying to your messages, enquiries and complaints	Legitimate interests (responding to people who contact us)
Sending service emails, such as password resets and updates about your submissions	Contract
Sending news about IWD activity, resources and campaign themes	Consent (you can unsubscribe at any time)
Keeping the site secure, preventing spam and abuse, and fixing errors	Legitimate interests (running a safe, working website)
Understanding how the site is used (Google Analytics)	Consent (only if you accept analytics cookies)
Complying with the law, and establishing or defending legal claims	Legal obligation, and legitimate interests

We don't make decisions about you based solely on automated processing, and we never sell your personal information.

4. Content you submit for publication

Speaker profiles, supplier listings, gallery images, contribution content and similar content may be published on the website and on IWD channels, under the licence you grant us in our Terms. Anything published on the internet can be seen, and copied, by people around the world, and we can't control how others use it.

Notes you send to the IWD team with a submission are not published.

If your submission includes information or images of other people, you must have their permission to share it with us for publication (and, for anyone under 18, the permission of their parent or guardian).

5. Who we share it with

We use trusted service providers to run the website. They act on our instructions and may only use your information to provide their service to us:

Amazon Web Services (AWS): website hosting, database and image storage.
SocketLabs: delivery of the emails the website sends.
Stripe and PayPal: payment processing.
Google: Analytics (only if you accept analytics cookies), reCAPTCHA to stop spam on forms, and web fonts.
Font Awesome: icons used on the site.
YouTube, Vimeo and X (Twitter): embedded videos and posts on some pages, under their own privacy policies.

We may also disclose personal information:

where we are required to by law, or to a court, regulator or law enforcement body;
to establish, exercise or defend legal rights, or to prevent fraud;
to our professional advisers, such as lawyers and accountants; and
to a buyer or prospective buyer of our business or assets, who would be bound to use it in line with this policy.

We will not share your personal information with other organisations for their own marketing.

6. Where your information is stored

Our database is hosted by AWS in Ireland, within the European Union. Our web servers and image storage are hosted by AWS in the United States, and some of our other service providers are based in the United States.

Where personal information is transferred outside the UK, we rely on safeguards recognised under UK data protection law, such as UK adequacy regulations, the UK International Data Transfer Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or the UK Extension to the EU-US Data Privacy Framework.

7. How long we keep it

Information	How long we keep it
Your account	Until you ask us to delete it. We delete it within 30 days of your request, except anything we must keep for the reasons below.
Content you submit	While your account is open, or until it is removed by you or by us.
Messages to the IWD team	Up to 2 years after our last contact with you.
Payment and past order records	6 years, as required for UK tax and accounting purposes.
Server security and error logs	Up to 12 months.
Google Analytics data	14 months.

Backups are overwritten on a rolling basis, so deleted information may remain in a backup for a short time before it is overwritten.

8. Keeping your information secure

We use encrypted (HTTPS) connections, restrict access to personal information to people who need it, and use reputable hosting and service providers. No method of sending information over the internet is completely secure, so we can't guarantee the security of information you send us.

Please keep your password private. We will never ask for your password, except when you log in.

9. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

access the personal information we hold about you;
have inaccurate information corrected; you can update most details yourself in your account;
have your information deleted; you can use Send account deletion request on your account page, or email us;
restrict or object to how we use your information, including for marketing;
receive your information in a portable format (data portability); and
withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on it.

To use any of these rights, email info@internationalwomensday.com. We may need to confirm your identity first. There is normally no charge, and we will reply within one month.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your information, please contact us first. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint.

10. Emails from us

We only send news about IWD activity and resources if you have ticked the box to receive it. You can unsubscribe using the link in any of those emails, or by changing your email preferences in your account. Service emails about your account or submissions are sent whatever your preferences.

11. Children

You must be 16 or over to register for an account or submit content (see our terms of use). Images or information about anyone under 18 should only be submitted with the permission of their parent or guardian.

12. Cookies

We use essential cookies so the site works, and Google Analytics cookies only if you accept them. Full details, and how to change your choice, are in our cookies policy.

13. Other websites

The website links to other websites. We are not responsible for their content or their privacy practices, so please read their privacy policies.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The date at the top shows when it was last changed. If we make significant changes, we will tell registered users by email or on the website.

15. Contact

For any questions about this policy or your personal information, email info@internationalwomensday.com.