But here we are.
For over a century, IWD has been a collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to forging women’s equality.
This year’s IWD campaign theme is Inspire Inclusion, celebrating diversity and empowerment in 2024 and beyond.
First things first, who am I to inspire inclusion?
It’s my job to inspire inclusion in others around me, celebrate their diversity and empower everyone’s sense of belonging and relevance.
The best way to inspire inclusion in others is to share part of my journey to get here.
Sometimes calling myself a professional housewife, over the last 50 years, I have been many things: a dairy farmer’s daughter, a student, homeless, a broadcast engineer, a wife, a chef, and a small business owner, all coming together at this point as a journalist.
Growing up regionally in a family heavy on girls, you learn to do all the jobs, just like the boys do — drive the tractor, milk the cows — but already you are learning that you also have to do the other jobs too — cook dinner, washing — all while trying to get an education to make something of your life.
Writing didn’t come naturally to me, and when finishing high school, I would have never been accepted into a uni course to be a journalist, so I headed down the broadcast engineering path instead.
In my upbringing, there was nothing the girls couldn’t do that the boys could, only hitting that roadblock when going into broadcast television.
Unsure if the roadblocks are a ‘self-wired’ thing or an actual ‘you are a woman, you are not supposed to be here’ thing.
I’ve hit my head against many of them over the years, but somehow, ending up at a spot that was right for me at the right time.
These roadblocks still occur, but now I’m aware of them and have come to accept that it might be me; I can’t control the thoughts or actions of others, only empower myself.
It is now my role to empower others to share their stories and encourage diversity.
The best way to do this is by sharing as many diverse stories as possible with everyone, regardless of background, who you are, or how large a following you have.
International Women’s Day is not the only day of the year we should share those stories.
We can, and I can do it all the time, continually empowering each other and embracing our diversity.
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