The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is ‘Embrace Equity’, and these are the key thought-starters:

• Equity isn't just a nice-to-have, it's a must-have.

• A focus on gender equity needs to be part of every society's DNA.

• It's critical to understand the difference between equity and equality

• When we embrace equity, we embrace diversity, and we embrace inclusion.

Equality is giving everyone a shoe

Equity is giving everyone a shoe that fits

Embracing equity is about recognising that we do not all start from the same place and that we must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances. The process is ongoing, and it requires us to identify and overcome intentional and unintentional barriers arising from bias or systemic structures.

The beautiful thing about sharing stories is that we can all learn from each other’s experiences - especially if we have experienced inequity. Sometimes it feels as though society still has a lot of undoing to do, and sometimes it’s powerful to come together, reflect on positive and uplifting stories, and remind ourselves that every bit of effort can go a long way. How interesting it will be to reflect on this conversation in another ten years’ time!

Chapter Three of the Womanhood Journal features stories of more than 30 women from our community who have shared stories of their own experiences, career paths, and life journeys. Knowing that people can face inequity in any part of their life is a key takeaway from this collection of stories. Our hope is that we all seek to learn to recognise this and challenge it so that together we can feel proud of helping others to feel a sense of inclusion and belonging in whatever place they have arrived at in this remarkable thing called life.