Thursday, 6 March 2025

 Natalie SULEYMAN (St Albans – Minister for Veterans, Minister for Small Business and Employment, Minister for Youth) (14:27): International Women’s Day is a day to celebrate the incredible contributions made by women in every part of our community. This past week the celebrations kickstarted when businesswoman Pooja Gupta won the Woman of the Year Award on Saturday. I recently joined the member for Kororoit to celebrate women in business, and tomorrow I will be in my home of St Albans to host my annual International Women’s Day forum, with guest speaker Dr Preeti Khillan talking about woman’s health. I am proud to be a member of this government, a government that works hard to support women everywhere.

Let us not forget the powerhouse multicultural women in business, who fight twice as hard to succeed and yet, despite the odds, are breaking barriers, leading industries and proving every day that they can do it. As the Minister for Small Business, I have the privilege of hearing firsthand from women in business of their powerful stories of resilience. So to all women out there paving their own way, running and operating their own business, my message is this: congratulate yourself. Give yourself the credit you deserve every single day, because for us women we know it is our resilience, our determination and our unwavering spirit that drive us forward. You are not just building a business, you are shaping society, creating opportunities and inspiring future generations of women to dream bigger and aim higher.

This government is making record investments in our multicultural business communities all across Victoria. Actions speak louder than words, and on this side of the house we are proud to have women from all backgrounds in leadership roles, leading our state and making a difference. Victorian women know which party has their back, the party that actually trusts women to make decisions. Happy International Women’s Day.