“I’m very proud to lead the first government in Australia with a majority of women in our membership,” Albanese said to government leaders who gathered together at Parliament House on Wednesday morning to officially launch Australia’s 2024 International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrations. 

“You can see across every portfolio, this makes a difference. Because of women campaigning with the union movement, making it clear that no one should have to choose between safety and their job, we now have 10 days of paid family and domestic violence leave.”

“Because of women’s advocacy and the work of experts like Anne Summers, emphasising the way that poverty and financial dependency trap people in violent relationships, we’ve delivered more support for single mums,” he said.

“When women are seeking help, they should be heard and seen, believed, supported and empowered.”

“While women are shaping these policies and driving these responses, ending this epidemic of violence has to involve men stepping up. Because violence against women is not a problem that women should have to solve.”

The tragic number of women killed in Australia shows that the epidemic of violence plaguing the nation. In 2023, Destroy the Joint data revealed a staggering 64 women’s lives were stolen by violence, and already this year, six women have lost their lives to violence. 

The gender-based nature of this violence is clear, as men are often the perpetrators of physical violence, sexual harassment and sexual violence. This reality makes Albanese’s call for men to “take responsibility” all the more critical. 

Ahead of the UN Global Day of Observance on 8 March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton co-hosted the annual UN Women Australia event. 

“The lead-up to International Women’s Day is an opportunity for all of us to recognise the progress that women are driving across our economy and our society,” Albanese said.

“It’s a chance to re-affirm our commitment to true gender equality – in the community, the boardroom, on the sporting field, in our parliaments. Above all, this is a time when we must face-up to where we are falling short and look for new ways to do better.”

Also present at the event were some of the government’s most high profile womne, including Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong, Minister for Women Katy Gallagher and Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.

This year’s official theme for IWD is ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress’, based on the priority theme for the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women, exploring the pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere.

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Last year, Bullock became the first woman in the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 63-year history to hold the influential position of Governor. 

“UN Women Australia is delighted to welcome one of Australia’s most prominent economic leaders for this one-of-a-kind conversation,” said Simone Clarke, CEO of UN Women Australia. 

The exclusive virtual presentation will feature an in-depth conversation with Governor Bullock, where audiences will hear insight into her visions and aspirations, her passion for inclusion and her views on the importance of diverse leadership. 

The theme for International Women’s Day 2024 is ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress’. It’s based on the priority theme for the United Nations 68th Commission on the Status of Women, exploring the pathways to greater economic inclusion for women and girls everywhere.

Around 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunity as men. Nearly 1 in 3 adolescent girls from the poorest households around the world has never been to school, while more than 342 million women and girls could be living below the poverty line by 2030, according to UN Women’s 2023 Gender Snapshot. 

The Snapshot shows an additional $360 billion per year is needed to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment. However, only 26 per cent of countries have a comprehensive system to track gender budget allocations.

“Women’s economic empowerment is central to a gender equal world,” says UN Women Australia. “When women are given equal opportunities to learn, earn and lead– entire communities thrive.”

Over the coming weeks, UN Women Australia will also be unveiling the inspiring line-up of speakers who will be across Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth, as well as a live virtual stream of all events on Friday, 8 March 2024.

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I think the resentment started with cupcakes. Such a belittling gesture at a time when women needed real and powerful action. 

I am a woman who loves nothing more than dressing up in a frock and making a fuss. But IWD needs a glow up and a dressing down, because it’s starting to stink of virtue signaling. If the day wants to survive it needs to be less frivolous, more action-orientated and more serious. 

As a rural woman in my mid(ish) thirties, I’ve spent the last eight years coordinating International Women’s Day events. It’s not the core business of my agricultural events and communications agency, but it’s a side hustle I’ve felt passionate about, and my love for it has been genuine. It brings women together in rural communities, gives us something positive to think about and look forward to and allows for some strong reflection. I am proud to say that we have read the room and the conversations have become meatier, more constructive and the focus has become stronger and more refined. Yet year on year, the impact seems stagnant. 

We continue to do these events, having collaborations, decorations, partnerships, sponsors and styling – but what is the actual impact? Yes, it appears we have more women going into leadership roles, more women on boards, more women having the option to return to work sooner and have partners take paternity leave – but how many years of International Women’s Day events will it take for us to achieve true equality? How many cupcakes? 

I recently posted about my IWD burnout on social media, and I was inundated with women reaching out and saying THANK GOD you said this – we all feel the same. 

So if we all feel the same, why do we keep going? 

I think women are empowered and motivated by the day, but frustrated with the virtue signaling and most of all, the cycle. 

As IWD rolls around, there’s a big hoo-ha. Commitments are made and women are applauded and then the next day it all goes back to the way it was. They show up at the next year’s event without providing an update on the progress (or lack thereof) on last year’s commitments, making the same lofty motherhood statements and sending us on our way with a cold eggs Benedict. 

This isn’t working anymore. It’s not good enough, and the tide is turning. 

What I am sure about is that I, like many IWD event coordinators, am tired of trying to come up with spicy new ways to engage women and make a spectacle out of our celebration. I thought for years that if we shout loud enough people will listen, and then women, like the cream on my parents dairy farm, will rise to the top. But maybe this is when true change happens – when pulling back from the hustle, you can allow something even more powerful to come through. Going slower to go faster, if you will. 

In 2024, I’m going to try a different approach.

Rather than having a stab in the dark at how we can create a spectacle “big-enough” to push progress and compete with the thousands of other IWD events out there, we are redirecting our efforts to something that will have tangible impact in the community. We are delivering an event for a community not-for-profit, the Northern Inland Academy of Sport, that helps girls succeed in sport. This event will raise money to ensure young girls have the opportunity to succeed. We know that 94% of women executives participate in sport, so hopefully we’re supporting the female CEOs of tomorrow. 

So perhaps this the secret recipe. Go local, stay small, create a tangible impact, and help make a big difference. 

It sure isn’t the recipe for an IWD cupcake. But the ingredients do make for an incredible event – and maybe even one which will actually demonstrate progress. 

I’m looking forward to finding out. 

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In a bid to save this vital service, family violence advocacy group Full Stop Australia has launched a nation-wide fundraising campaign, including an International Women’s Day dinner, which took place last night in Sydney. 

Corporate, philanthropic and community donors took part in the IWD event, including the Paul Ramsay Foundation, NRMA Insurance and Commonwealth Bank. 

Raffle prizes were donated by local artists, including prints by artist Amani Haydar. Haydar is the author of the award-winning memoir The Mother Wound, a 2021 book about the violent death of her mother at the hands of her father. 

Former CNN journalist Anjali Rao hosted the event, which included a panel discussion between a number of influential changemakers on the work that needs to be done for a gender-equal future.

Panellists included Indigenous Elder and Artist, Aunty Nanna Miss Koori, Wongatha/Yamatji and Noongar/Gitja actor Shareena Clanton, Nyangbal, Arakwal and Dunghutti woman and Head of Koori Mail, Naomi Moran, disability advocate Elly Desmarchelier, and CEO of Cheek Media, Hannah Ferguson.

“1 in 5 people in Australia are disabled,” Elly Desmarchelier reminded audiences last night, emphasising the need to end the marginalisation of disabled people in our community. “If you have a group of five friends, and none of them are disabled, ask yourself, why does your group discriminate?”

Hannah Ferguson said the conservative media landscape in Australia is “concealing an epidemic of domestic and sexual violence by making perpetrators invisible in their headlines, or by shifting blame back to complainants and survivors.”

“We need to have uncomfortable conversations and reflect on what we’re consuming and how it impacts our views,” she said.

Naomi Moran, who manages Australia’s only independent Indigenous newspaper, said she wants the government to listen deeply to the voices of women who remain unheard.

“There are lessons to be learned by our government when we acknowledge the strength and connectedness at a community level that contributes to how productive, proactive and progressive the work is from the ground up,” she stressed. “To continue to sustain those efforts though – to support matters of life or death situations for women in this country.”

Shareena Clanton described her experiences of financial and emotional violence, and the minimisation of Black women when they seek help. Sharing a personal anecdote of an occasion when she was turned away from the police, she asked: “Do I have to have a bruise on my eye or blood on my face for you to take me seriously?”

Full Stop Australia’s chief executive Hayley Foster said she is encouraged by the strong community support for the national service, though she remains concerned about the future of the service once the government funding stops. 

“We can’t bear to think of not being able to pick up the phone to survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence who rely upon us for support and care come 1 July this year,”,” Foster said. “But that’s the reality we’re facing.”

“Sexual assault and domestic violence are the fastest growing serious crimes across the country and more and more victim-survivors are reaching out for help.”

“Reported sexual assaults alone have increased by more than 110% in the last 25 years, and we’re seeing no signs of abatement.”

Demand for the service has more than doubled in each successive year since its creation in 2020. It was originally set up to curb the shortage of trauma specialists in sexual, domestic and family violence counselling services across Australia. 

Full Stop Australia’s counsellors are qualified in trauma specialist sexual, domestic and family violence counselling, and are highly accredited within their respective professional bodies.

Last year, a national survey from the University of Newcastle found that more than half of women in their twenties reported having experienced sexual violence.

According to Foster, thousands of sexual assault and domestic violence survivors now rely upon Full Stop’s service for critical support and short, medium and long-term therapeutic care in circumstances where they don’t have specialist services in their local area, or they can’t afford to access a private therapist.

One Aboriginal woman in her early 20s living in a regional area said accessing Full Stop Australia’s national counselling service was a lifeline. Last year, she was sexually assaulted and didn’t know how to hold the perpetrator to account. 

“Full Stop Australia has had quite a big impact on my life,” she said. “To just have that reassurance to know that what I went through was not okay… and to have really supporting and caring people on the other side of the phone.”

“Without that reassurance and that courage, I wouldn’t have been able to report my story to the police, which, therefore I feel like I wouldn’t really be able to achieve the justice that I deserve. So yeah, I’m pretty thankful that there’s a service out there that you know you can call.”

Another young person with a disability who experienced sexual violence in the workplace told Full Stop Australia the service was important as a place survivors can turn to for high quality care, knowing they won’t be victim-blamed or discriminated against.

The person, who asked not to be identified by name, is from a culturally and linguistically diverse background, and said the service has been “empowering” for them in the years since the assault.

“I first started reaching out to the phone hotline and it was great to nearly instantly have someone to talk to at any time of the day who would listen to you, give you some advice if you ask for it and just support you in the things you need,” they said. 

“I also didn’t feel stigmatised, and I felt like the people that I was talking to cared about me and wanted to support me.”

Foster praised Full Stop’s therapeutic approach, which has been proven to dramatically reduce the distress of callers. 

“We are a safe place for survivors of sexual, domestic and family violence to turn to,” she said. “No matter what their age, gender, cultural background or geographical location.”

“Our empowering, therapeutic approach works, with clients who consistently engage with our service reporting an average 91% reduction in subjective distress as a result of service engagement.”

Full Stop aims to reach $200,000 in donations to keep the service open in the months after June, and wants the government to assist with at least $586,872 in annual funding to sustain the service.

Donations can be made here.

If you or someone you know is in need of help due to sexual assault or family and domestic violence contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732

In an emergency call 000. Lifeline (13 11 14) and, for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, 13YARN (13 92 76)

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The Larrakia actress spoke to a crowd of over 350 people about her career highlights, starring in Australian classics including ‘The Sapphires’, ‘Love Child’, ‘Top End Wedding’ and more recently, ‘The Dry’.

“You have so much power within your own orbit,” Gopal said of Tapsell. “Through the art of film, you’ve created something to be celebrated.”

Tapsell explained the importance of writing her own story in ‘Top End Wedding’, and her compulsion to narrate her own life.

“I had so many stories to tell,” she said. “I wanted it to be on my terms. That’s why I wrote Top End Wedding. I knew that I had a story to tell. I became a storyteller because a lot of people put context around me. They just make their mind up before they even get to knew me. There have been lots of limitations put on me. They ask me, ‘when are you going to grow?’ ‘Get taller’? I was always raised to mind my manners.”

After the release of her film, tourism in the Tiwi Islands increased by 14 percent. Tapsell saw it as giving back to her own town.

“I wanted to actually show Australia what goes on. I wanted to show what makes my community so great. See what I love about it so much.”

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A post shared by Miranda Tapsell (@misstap)

“I was able to take the film to New York and people said they felt homesick. It was nice for people to not just see Crocodile Dundee. I offered a different perspective of Australia which is nice. There was a richness to the landscape and the Indigenous knowledge that is so inherent in the film.”

When asked what she’d like to see changed in Australia, Tapsell appealed to the country to normalise the representation of Indigenous Australians in the public sphere.

“Indigenous women haven’t been invited to many IWD events,” she said.

“This is emotional for me. I’m a woman too. We need people looking in different places for our voices. There are so many Indigenous writers, academics out there. Many of us have a profile. My perspective is just one in the community, there are so many different perspectives, it is so multifaceted. You need to look further, cast the net wider. Going to the library and reading Alison Whittaker, Evelyn Araluen. Hayley McGuire.”

When asked what she’s looking to challenge this year, Tapsell said it was the fear of speaking out.

“The fear or the guilt…I feel like it’s really taken me a long time to find my voice. I’m always scared of speaking out in fear of my own safety. What does it mean? It’s not about losing a job; what’s the person in power going to do?Are they going to humiliate me?”

“I’m choosing to challenge that clap-back. To not be scared. To actually say what you want to say — knowing all of things that could happen to you.”

Tapsell shared the stage with OZHarvest founder Ronni Kahn and former foreign minister Julie Bishop, who likewise spoke about their stories of career adversity and resilience.

Like Tapsell, Kahn has had to actively challenge fear in order to overcome it. Last year, during the pandemic, the 68-year old former businesswoman penned her debut memoir ‘A Repurposed Life’, in which she opens up about her journey from South Africa to Israel and eventually to Australia.

“One year ago today, we were on the cusp of launching a major event that would bring us 3 million dollars,” Kahn began.

“That’s a lot for an NGO that’s philanthropically funded. But then COVID hit and it began to be apparent it would be impossible to hold an event of 2000 people.”

Her organisation was committed to not letting anyone go during the pandemic, and this year, even hired an additional 70 staff. She rallied together a range of charities and received 250 million in government funding allocated to their sector.

Former Minister for Foreign Affairs and former deputy leader of the Liberal Party Julie Bishop also shared some thoughts about the challenges faced by Australians in the last 12 months. She believes that the aftershocks of COVID-19 will continue for years to come.

“We are seeing change as a result of the pandemic that we can’t have imagined,” she explained. “The financial markets are volatile, there’s an increase in robotics and AI and we are seeing even more disruption and change. Short term solutions aren’t good enough.”

“The world is calling out for more leadership.”

Bishop spent 15 years as a commercial litigator in Perth before entering politics. She believes the key to success is to “surround yourself with smart people who can run the show.”

“I was brought up to believe that entering public office is the highest calling. It was an opportunity I had to take. It was such a privilege to represent Australia on the world stage. People wanted to hear our view of the world. I felt so respected and so welcomed. It was a truly exciting five years.”

Meeting with some of the most iconic politicians of our time, Bishop noticed a clear difference between the way men and women leaders led.

“I met a lot of leaders around the world and I saw the different styles and characteristics of each of them. Something I really noticed was the different leadership styles between men and women. Women tend to be more transformational. They focus on the individuals of the team. They’re more empathetic. They looked at the personal development as they make up the team. Men are more transactional. They will put a team together and make the team accountable. They were much more adversarial in style.” 

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A post shared by The Hon Julie Bishop (@honjuliebishop)

Bishop said that a better future is one where there’s a combination of views.

“We should have a combination of styles in all board rooms. We need diversity of styles. Diversity more broadly in terms of these different styles, experiences, views around the table. Then you have better discussions and better outcomes.”

Bishop is optimistic that the future will be brighter as long as we continue to encourage women to run for office.

“What we need is more women in political leadership,” she said.

“We need more women as contenders. More women in parliament. Numbers don’t necessarily change attitudes but it will make it a much more appealing place for women to work. We need to encourage more women to go into public office. It’s a long process but it can be done.” 

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Labor’s plans to release new gender pay initiatives include plans for legislation that will ensure public reporting, while not allowing pay secrecy clauses that prevent some employees from disclosing their pay.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese plans to announce that if his party wins the next federal election, they will enact a searchable gender pay equity portal that will publish companies’ headline gender pay gap, and managerial and non-managerial pay gaps.

In a statement, Albanese remarked that current research shows “Australian women working for companies that report to the WGEA (Workplace Gender Equality Agency) earn, on average, $25,534 less than men every year and face a 20 percent gap in total wages.”

“The situation is only getting worse,” he said. 

Currently, companies report their gender pay data to the Workplace Gender Equality Agency though the results from individual companies are not publicly available. 

Last year, Libby Lyons, the director of the WGEA, alerted the public to the fact that Australian employers were on autopilot when it comes to changing the current conditions of pay equity. Lyons said there was a “troubling” reduction in the number of employers taking remedial action to address the gender pay gaps.

Albanese also plans to look at the gender pay gap in the Australian Public Service, as well as building up the capacity of the Fair Work Commission to increase the pay of workers in low-paid, female-dominated industries.

Labor’s new policy on gender pay gap would also include reporting that would give companies the option of offering a statement explaining their pay gap, and their actions they intend to do to amend it.

Companies with more than 1,000 employees will also be required to report within two years, while others will be given four years to report their results. 

Albanese took to Twitter today, saying “Labor will legislate so that companies with more than 250 employees will have to report their gender pay gap publicly.”

Marking International Women’s Day, Albanese also added “Women should be in every room where decisions are made – and I’m proud to work alongside so many dedicated women in the Labor team. Happy International Women’s Day.” 

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Let me share why…

I was born in the mid 1960s in an environment that can only be described as culturally regressive and oppressive. I spent my entire youth challenging society and cultural norms, facing discrimination and sexism. I had to deal with misogynism and what women’s place was in society – education to high school, arranged marriages and living with the all-powerful in-laws.

I also had to face the inequality within my own family between my brother and myself. Yes, as the son, he was and still is the golden child, and can do no wrong.

There was a silver lining. My father believed in education and sent me to Australia, where I chose to stay via marriage to a white man – once again choosing to challenge and defy my family and society.

The next challenge was facing corporate Australia as a woman of colour. There were no culturally diverse role models in the 90s and what you can’t see you cannot aspire to be.

I remember the times when there were only a few women in Government, in the C-Suite, where no one ever talked about diversity and inclusion, or targets and quotas.

In the early 1990s, if I was spoken to or touched inappropriately, there was never any recourse or support available.

I remember walking down the streets of Melbourne with my partner at the time and people would stare at us… a white man with a brown woman.

In the early part of my career I always assumed that women like me would never reach heights of leadership as there were very few women of any colour in leadership roles.

I chose to step up and I chose to challenge, I became so good at what I do that it was hard to ignore or overlook me. I used all my grit, determination, and bravery to ask for what I wanted.

Soon I found my self being a “first and only”, and the burden and responsibility of being this. I knew that whatever I did or said would be amplified. That however people perceived me they would perceive every other woman of colour to be the same.

In time I learnt to set boundaries and call out inappropriate behaviour, but I quickly realised that speaking out caused backlash. I was branded ‘too sensitive’ or told I ‘perceived things the wrong way’.

Over the past 12 years in Corporate Australia the dial has moved forward, there is no denying that. However, the pace of the movement is too slow. Many women my age who are steely from all their experiences, have become the role models they didn’t see, are now stronger and more in number.

We have been joined by our daughters and our sons! Our voices are stronger, we are a force to be reckoned with.

Despite this, I am tired of challenging. I want to see deliberate changes, made by leaders who know that diverse workplaces are the future of work. Leaders who understand that their businesses must reflect the communities they work and live in. Many culturally diverse women who work in organizations are often the first or only woman of colour.

To the leaders out there, none of this is hard. It is also the right thing to do. So yes, let’s challenge. But, instead of choosing to challenge for tiny return, we must choose to challenge for a return far greater than what it has been to date.

We must choose to challenge for more.

The post I’m tired of challenging. I want our leaders to step up appeared first on Women's Agenda.

If the growing fanfare matched a commensurate increase in a tangible commitment to women and girls, or the pace at which gender inequality was being meaningfully eradicated, I’d be more enthused. My issue, at the risk of being an IWD grinch, is the disconnect between the apparent ‘celebration’ of women and the stark reality.

'The fanfare around #IWD has ballooned in recent years – which would be palatable if it reflected a commensurate improvement in the lives of women & girls. It hasn't.' @georgiedent https://t.co/nSuRsdOvGI

— Women's Agenda (@WomensAgenda) March 5, 2019

The fact on Friday an emergency meeting convened to address domestic violence concluded without a single new measure or action point to improve the safety of women and children, is a bitterly-disappointing case in point.

A crisis meeting convened on Friday between the Women’s Safety Ministers after the horrendous murders in Brisbane resulted in no tangible outcomes to increase the safety of women and children subject to domestic and family violence. It's not good enough. https://t.co/LPkJQDOPN7

— Women's Agenda (@WomensAgenda) March 9, 2020

That this meeting happened in the aftermath of four of the most horrendously violent murders Australia has ever witnessed, on the eve of International Women’s Day, is salt in a ghastly open wound.

If at this exact moment in Australia’s history we cannot expect a meaningful, all-bets are off, let’s try absolutely everything, approach to violence that is killing a woman every single week, when can we?

That hypocrisy is at the heart of my issue with IWD in its current manifestation and I’m not alone. In The Guardian Alexandra Topping observed IWD “is in danger of becoming little more than a corporate Valentine’s Day, with companies jumping on the bandwagon to whitewash their brands rather than promote women’s equality”.

International Women's Day risks becoming 'corporate Mother's Day', feminists say https://t.co/qDZ7wtDy3F

— Vivienne Hayes (@VivHayes) March 7, 2020

The chief executive of the Women’s Resource Centre, Vivienne Hayes, told The Guardian “This use of International Women’s Day by companies is part of the co-option of feminism and women’s equality into a much more mainstream position, that has led to the corporatisation of the advancement of women’s rights.”

Earlier this month Dr Kaye Quek and Dr Meagan Tyler asked if IWD should be celebrated or commiserated.

I dedicate this to all the #highered institutions that think what their female employees really want on #IWD is to hear a speech from the head of human resources… https://t.co/9rNvzf6bbF

— Meagan Tyler (@DrMeaganTyler) March 3, 2020

“The corporate rebranding of International Women’s Day (IWD), as a time for cupcakes and celebration, couldn’t be further from its revolutionary roots, or any meaningful discussion of women’s liberation,” they wrote. “Now we’re even told, by one of the world’s most prominent IWD websites, “Equality is not a women’s issue, it’s a business issue.”

In fact that website, the top-ranking site that appears on Google if you search ‘International Women’s Day’, is a corporate entity.

A report by Caitlin Fitzsimmons in The Sun-Herald  confirmed that internationalwomensday.com out-ranks the United Nations’ website, potentially confuses organisers of events.

"Clearly they've invested quite a lot of money in developing an International Women's Day commercial entity” ⁦@JanelleWeissman⁩ tells ⁦@niltiac⁩ of the corporate IWC site outranking the ⁦@UN_Women⁩ page on google. #GenerationEquality https://t.co/FDniz8qLiC

— Georgie Dent (@georgiedent) March 8, 2020

The UN’s 2020 theme for IWD is #GenerationEquality. It is telling that the commercial IWD’s site theme #EachforEqual was adopted far more comprehensively by organisations hosting events this year.

Even the Minister for Women, Marise Payne, used the #EachforEqual theme designated by the corporate site, hosted by a London-based consultancy Aurora Ventures, when marking IWD.

The International Women’s Day 2020 theme is #EachforEqual, to highlight the effort each of us can make towards gender equality. It’s a day to celebrate women across the world & to reflect on challenges still faced in ensuring all women can fulfil their potential. @officeforwomen pic.twitter.com/yslFWNHMgV

— Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) March 7, 2020

The blatant commercialism of a day designed to highlight the very real inequity women and girls continue to face is vile. The absolute last thing any woman or girl the world over needs is a corporate version of Mother’s Day.

On Sunday Westfield Hornsby ran a promotion with a list of seven different ways women could ‘celebrate’ IWD.

Get a blow dry. Get a mani/pedi. Eat a pastry. Buy a dress. Have a cocktail… to “celebrate” #IWD Dear ⁦@westfieldhornsby
⁩
Are you actually serious??? https://t.co/tiMd4hazdP

— Georgie Dent (@georgiedent) March 8, 2020

From getting a blow dry, to a mani/pedi, new dress or eating a pastry, I very nearly threw up. And I say that as someone rather fond of all of the above. (Particularly pastries).

My issue is exploiting an occasion to mark the ugly, gritty reality of inequality and repackaging it as another opportunity to shower women with hollow saccharine sentiments that won’t improve their lives.

My list. 1. Read a female authored book 2. Appreciate art by a woman 3. Call your mum/sister 4. Thank a woman who helped you 5. Tell a younger female what you appreciate in them. 6. Make a donation if you can to a charity that supports women in need. 7. Love yourself

— Pip Marlow (@pipms) March 8, 2020

Excellent list Pip. Here is 7 more…
1. Promote a woman
2. Hire/promote/hear from more WOC and Indigenous women
3. Listen to a woman (ie. really listen)
4. Fix a pay gap
5. Support all trans women
6. Provide a harassment free workplace
7. Don’t judge a woman by what she wears

— Dr Kirstin Ferguson (@kirstinferguson) March 8, 2020

Women and girls need equity. The hypocrisy of turning a day to highlight that into an opportunity for profit, rather than a necessary moment to address the fundamental barriers to equality, is the ultimate insult.

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Many will reflect on who holds the most power in workplaces and public life (men), who is disproportionately affected by sexual harassment and gender-based violence (women), and who earns on average 14.1 per cent or $239.40 less per week (women as compared to men in Australia), according to Diversity Council Australia’s 2019 report.

These realities, still true in 2020 despite the progress we’ve made, remind us that gender equality has not been achieved on many measures – not in public, professional or personal life.

Our research found that, at home, Australian women are still doing almost two-thirds of all the care and housework even ten years after the birth or adoption of their first child, and married women with children do more unpaid domestic work than their male partners even when both adults work full-time.

While gender inequalities certainly affect women, they also affect men. Even the seemingly positive stereotype that men make better leaders, actually limits men who want to take on caring roles, as fathers, nurses or childcare workers.

That’s why this International Women’s Day, DCA wants to challenge all gender inequalities, and the stubborn social norms that restrict all of us based on our gender.

Breaking free from narrow gender roles helps men’s mental well-being, improves the parenting experience for children by allowing both men and women to be equally involved in their care, and relieves the pressure on men to be the sole breadwinner in a household.  Gender equality liberates men, too.

If the inequality inherent in gender-based norms does not benefit men (or women) at home or in the workplace, how did we get here? To answer that, we start in childhood. Research shows there is a link between the messages we receive in childhood and the career trajectories we take – before children are even two years old, they are already aware of gender stereotypes.

You can ask parents if they want to raise their sons and daughters differently and most will say no, yet if you follow up with a question about whether parents feel comfortable with their son playing with dolls, they are often not so relaxed.

These stereotypes influence everything from what toys children play with to what subjects they choose at school with life-long impacts on career choices. Stereotypes discourage boys from playing with dolls and expressing their emotions, moving away from jobs like nursing and childcare. When girls are discouraged from playing with ‘masculine’ toys, like building blocks, they miss out on developing the spatial skills linked to mathematics, according to a new DCA infographic based on industry and academic research.

“By age seven, stereotypes are already limiting girls’ career ambitions, so they are less likely than boys to aspire to engineering or science careers,” DCA highlights. As adults, women take on the bulk of unpaid caring and domestic labour while men face societal pressure to support the family financially. What happens at every stage of a man or woman’s life is largely tied to the gender roles that are deeply entrenched in Australia and countries far and wide from as early as childhood.

If we don’t raise boys and girls with a focus on gender equality, why should we expect to have gender equal workplaces when they grow up? In 2020, gender inequality continues to limit the ability of both men and women to be respected and to contribute at work and at home. The more men and women have access to flexible work options, including those outside the gender-based norms such as equal opportunity for parental leave, the more likely they are to share responsibility at home.

In the workplace, men can recruit for gender balance, measure and acknowledge the gender pay gap, challenge other men to stop behaviours, like sexism, that perpetuate inequality, and ensure women have an equal voice in all discussions and meetings, among other actions.

We all have a role to play in what we teach our children and what we want our societies, homes, and workplaces to look like.

Gender equality is about preserving the dignity of every single person. We’ve come a long way since the first IWD more than 100 years ago, but women and men still have a long way to go – together.

The post This International Women’s Day, let’s challenge stubborn social norms appeared first on Women's Agenda.

This year, I am reflecting on what empowerment looks like to me and the kind of empowerment I was raised with. The women in my family have not been catalysts for mass social change, but significant change nevertheless. Like many of us, I grew up in an immigrant family in a culture where hyper gender biases are the norm. My mother, my grandmothers and my aunties come from a culture that projects very specific expectations of what it means to be a woman and a wife.

Over time, these expectations became the only thing they knew a woman should be and as an effect, their identities were formed around these expectations. As the angsty teenager I was, I wasn’t just annoyed at the men in my family for enacting these practices over the women, but I was also angry at the women in my life for simply accepting them.

However, as I reflect on the way my mother raised me, I see the grace and dignity of someone who slowly grew into herself over a period of time, when all she was expected to be was a subservient wife. From the culture she came from, the parents who raised her and the family she married into.

I can’t tell you exactly when the moment was when I noticed she was so much more than a complying wife. However, there were little moments that I was privy to that now make me realise that empowered women don’t have to be the loudest person in the room (although the loudest person in a room would probably be me, lets be honest). They can simply be the one who subtly pushes back on the only life they’ve ever known. The one who realises that they shouldn’t accept it for the simple notion that it is just ‘how things are done’.

One of these said moments came to me when I was fourteen years old and I realised that even though my mother, who had only ever worked in the same family business, (a milkbar, shout out to all the kids of immigrants who were forced to work in their parent’s business growing up), always had her own substantial stash of cash for emergencies. This money was hidden behind the alcohol cabinet in our fancy dining room that we never actually ate in, and had a creepy last supper painting where the gaze of twelve disciples followed you as you paced the room.

In that moment, she taught me the importance of financial independence and security. This isn’t to say my father would have been offended at the thought, nor prevented her from needing to feel that independence. In that moment though, my mother showed me that there was nothing wrong with making sure you can take care of yourself if you need to.

To most people, this must sound like such a simple thought, but when you have been raised in a culture and religion where all you’re told is that you and your husband are one – this isn’t an obvious thought, it’s an act of bravery. That day, and others like it, taught me that I underestimated my mother’s intelligence, willingness for independence and emotional strength.

Other small pockets of realization came in the form of watching my mother sit in lounge rooms filled with male relatives, calmly questioning and challenging their opinions on certain topics ranging from family drama, to politics in the Middle East. Her calm demeanour used to frustrate me, before I realised that that was her weapon of choice.

I now realise that the simple practice of pushing back or even interrupting a conversation she wasn’t invited into, was a revolutionary act on her part. My mother’s natural personality is quiet, yet steadfast. She showed me that you don’t have to change yourself to fight back.

Over time, when these naturally dominant men sit in those very lounge rooms, carrying on about the same or similar topics, they expect push back. They know there is someone there [a woman no less] holding them accountable for their words. And now, not only do they expect such objections, they willingly seek her advice and wisdom. This woman, my quiet, submissive mother, made herself the female life guru of Arab men.

Growing up and watching those small acts of change, empower me just as much as watching Cynthia Nixon narrate ‘Be a lady, they said’, or watching Nancy Pelosi tear apart Trump’s speech for the state of the union address.

Through my mother, I’ve learnt that empowerment doesn’t have to be the person leading the parade, it can also be the woman watching from her lounge room on TV. To me, empowerment is the subtle acts of fighting back against all you’ve ever known and been taught, no matter how small that push back is.

On International Women’s Day, I’m going to keep looking out for the subtle acts of empowerment. And continually be impressed by women, like my mother, who grew up in a culture that told them their role in society was passive, and see them quietly tear those walls down. My mother, Nouhad Obeid-Zeine, has empowered me to believe that I can be independent while still sharing a life with someone, and that humility, wisdom and intelligence will capture a room, no matter how much bias is staring back at you.

So … thank you mum, for never imposing the gender norms that our culture has so systemically ingrained in our society, onto me. Thank you for encouraging all of my strong and animated opinions, and letting me know that my loud and high energy personality was never ‘too much’.

And thank you for never telling me to ‘act like a lady.’

I’m proud to have her as my matriarch.

The post What empowerment looks like to me: The story of my Lebanese mother appeared first on Women's Agenda.

Many will reflect on who holds the most power in workplaces and public life (men), who is disproportionately affected by sexual harassment and gender-based violence (women), and who earns on average 14.1 per cent or $239.40 less per week (women as compared to men in Australia), according to Diversity Council Australia’s 2019 report.

These realities, still true in 2020 despite the progress we’ve made, remind us that gender equality has not been achieved on many measures – not in public, professional or personal life.

Our research found that, at home, Australian women are still doing almost two-thirds of all the care and housework even ten years after the birth or adoption of their first child, and married women with children do more unpaid domestic work than their male partners even when both adults work full-time.

While gender inequalities certainly affect women, they also affect men. Even the seemingly positive stereotype that men make better leaders, actually limits men who want to take on caring roles, as fathers, nurses or childcare workers.

That’s why this International Women’s Day, DCA wants to challenge all gender inequalities, and the stubborn social norms that restrict all of us based on our gender.

Breaking free from narrow gender roles helps men’s mental well-being, improves the parenting experience for children by allowing both men and women to be equally involved in their care, and relieves the pressure on men to be the sole breadwinner in a household.  Gender equality liberates men, too.

If the inequality inherent in gender-based norms does not benefit men (or women) at home or in the workplace, how did we get here? To answer that, we start in childhood. Research shows there is a link between the messages we receive in childhood and the career trajectories we take – before children are even two years old, they are already aware of gender stereotypes.

You can ask parents if they want to raise their sons and daughters differently and most will say no, yet if you follow up with a question about whether parents feel comfortable with their son playing with dolls, they are often not so relaxed.

These stereotypes influence everything from what toys children play with to what subjects they choose at school with life-long impacts on career choices. Stereotypes discourage boys from playing with dolls and expressing their emotions, moving away from jobs like nursing and childcare. When girls are discouraged from playing with ‘masculine’ toys, like building blocks, they miss out on developing the spatial skills linked to mathematics, according to a new DCA infographic based on industry and academic research.

“By age seven, stereotypes are already limiting girls’ career ambitions, so they are less likely than boys to aspire to engineering or science careers,” DCA highlights. As adults, women take on the bulk of unpaid caring and domestic labour while men face societal pressure to support the family financially. What happens at every stage of a man or woman’s life is largely tied to the gender roles that are deeply entrenched in Australia and countries far and wide from as early as childhood.

If we don’t raise boys and girls with a focus on gender equality, why should we expect to have gender equal workplaces when they grow up? In 2020, gender inequality continues to limit the ability of both men and women to be respected and to contribute at work and at home. The more men and women have access to flexible work options, including those outside the gender-based norms such as equal opportunity for parental leave, the more likely they are to share responsibility at home.

In the workplace, men can recruit for gender balance, measure and acknowledge the gender pay gap, challenge other men to stop behaviours, like sexism, that perpetuate inequality, and ensure women have an equal voice in all discussions and meetings, among other actions.

We all have a role to play in what we teach our children and what we want our societies, homes, and workplaces to look like.

Gender equality is about preserving the dignity of every single person. We’ve come a long way since the first IWD more than 100 years ago, but women and men still have a long way to go – together.

The post This International Women’s Day, let’s challenge stubborn social norms appeared first on Women's Agenda.

I am far from alone. In recent months and weeks a number of very high-profile women, many of whom are professional presenters and speakers, have separately taken to various social media channels to share their own invitations to speak, pro bono, at IWD events and their respective decisions to decline.

It’s 28 Jan & I’ve received my first request to work for free on International Women’s Day.
I will not work for $0 – https://t.co/WAQ2GpruUk
You can book me to speak or
to write (for a fee) – carlyfindlay8@gmail.com
Asking women to work for free just contributes to inequity.

— Carly Findlay OAM (@carlyfindlay) January 28, 2020

These posts, whether they’ve been on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter, have invariably attracted comments from other women who have shared their own tussles with  demands for their services gratis. Honestly, it seems there is a solid case for renaming IWD to International Do-More-Work-For-Free Day.

STOP asking women to work for free (including speaking) on International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day was started by (mainly migrant) women who wanted decent pay and fair conditions. https://t.co/K90i8nDTO9 #InternationalWomensDay @carlyfindlay #WomensRights #equalpay

— Ginger Gorman (@GingerGorman) January 31, 2020

Women do a lot of work for free as it stands. Research from Price Waterhouse Cooper in 2017 showed that women undertake 72% of all unpaid work in Australia, the bulk of which is caring work. It’s not paid, but the monetary value of this unpaid caring work has been estimated to be $650.1 billion, is the equivalent to 50.6% of GDP.

As a gender there is no doubt we are already pulling our pro-bono weight. We’re doing more than our fair share but, it seems, it is still not enough.

IWD exists to highlight the entrenched disadvantage and inequity women and girls around the world face. Economic inequality is a critical component of that. One of the fundamental barriers to women achieving economic equality and financial security is the caring burden they carry.

It makes the irony of IWD becoming a peak opportunity to extract yet more free labour from women breathtaking.

In previous years I have shared my misgivings about IWD. My fervent belief is that women don’t need a pedestal for a single day. They need equality, every day.

To that end, in a bid to make International Women’s Day a constructive opportunity in the calendar to shrink the gender gap, please consider taking any (or all!) of these steps.

Whether you do it in your capacity as an engaged individual or an employer (or both) doesn’t matter. What matters is that you do it.

• Conduct a pay audit or request your employer does. And ask them to publish the results to show employees, shareholders, customers and other stakeholders that it doesn’t just care about inequality, it wants to help fix it.
• Use your vote – at Local, State and Federal level – to support people and policies that are focused on closing the gender gap.  It’s not going to happen by accident.
• Lobby your local member for better representation of women, for adequate funding for domestic violence services, for universal childcare, for better paid parental leave.
• Offer paid parental leave and be intentional about encouraging men to take it up in equal numbers as women. Less than 50% of the organisations that report to WGEA offer their employees paid leave when a baby arrives. The business case was sorted in the 80s and hasn’t changed.
• Introduce a zero-tolerance policy to sexual harassment and intentionally build a  culture that supports it.
• Get an all-male team to organise future IWD events.
• Pay the women you expect to participate in your IWD events. The gap in unpaid work between men and women is exactly why IWD is needed. Don’t add to it.
• Set a target (even better be bold enough to call it a quota).
• Boycott all-male panels.
• Do more at home (if you’re a man).
• Do less at home (if you’re a woman).
• Don’t wait for the 8th of March each year to think about gender equality.

The post Should we rename International Women’s Day to International Do-More-Work-For-Free Day? appeared first on Women's Agenda.