It’s time to #PressForProgress
Published on 06 March 2018
On Thursday 8 March, people around the world will come together to celebrate International Women’s Day.
The day belongs to all communities everywhere, and everyone can play a purposeful part in pressing for gender parity. It is an opportunity to motivate and unite friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive.
In 2017, Australia was ranked 35th on a global index measuring gender equality. Although gender parity won’t happen overnight, there is progress happening across the world with a very strong and growing movement of advocacy, activism and support.
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is #PressForProgress, and now, more than ever, there's a strong call-to-action to press forward and progress gender parity.
City of Maribyrnong Mayor, Cr Cuc Lam, said that Council has a longstanding commitment to furthering gender respect and equity in both our organisation and community.
“We are committed to nurturing a community where opportunities for success are equally available to women and men; where everyone lives free from the cycle of violence; where people’s thoughts, ideas and opinions are heard and respected and their choices and goals in life celebrated and supported,” Cr Lam said.
In order to promote gender equality, we have created Beyond Princesses and Pirates, a guide to children’s picture books, to assist parents and carers in challenging the culturally ingrained ideas about appropriate behaviours for females and males.
The content of many children’s books can perpetuate gender stereotypes, often depicting boys as strong and active, and girls as pretty and passive. But picture books can be used to promote discussion and broader thinking in a way that children can understand, and this guide will provide a range of books that feature alternative ideas about what children can be, what they can be interested in, and what they can achieve.
This resource, to be launched on International Women’s Day, will be available at all of Maribyrnong’s libraries and on our website here.
On top of this, a number of events are being held in Maribyrnong to celebrate the day, including (but not limited to) the following.
International Women's Day events
#IAMWOMAN – photographic exhibition by local artist Jody Haines
5 March – 13 April
Braybrook Community Hub Access Gallery
#IAMWOMAN by photographic artist Jody Haines is an ongoing photographic portrait project exploring the visual language of gender and representation of Women.
The work, which began at Women of the World Festival, Melbourne, arose out of a desire to subvert the status quo of daily female visual representation seen across print media and social media platforms. The work aims to develop a different type of female image, one that creates an equality and care for an individual’s presence. Across the exhibitions you’ll discover a returned gaze and a mandate for women to be seen, not as an object but as an individual - strong, beautiful and complex.
Be heard! Be seen! Be you!
More info
IWD at Big Bang
Friday 9 March, 4-7pm
RecWest Braybrook
The Big Bang sports and recreational program is celebrating International Women’s Day by running an evening of fun, interactive games, inviting professional mentors and showcasing women in sport.
Young people 12-25 years old welcome.
More info
View the full list of events taking place for International Women’s Day here
Maribyrnong News
Stay up-to-date with the latest news by subscribing to our eNews.