Tuesday, 8 March 2022

International Women’s Day

Ms SHING (Eastern Victoria) (12:46): I would like to invite people to think about a woman who inspires you, is a feminist and a champion for women in her deeds and in her principles and in the consistency of her words, and who moves you to be better. Picture her in your mind: her story, who she is. Think about who came to mind for you. I would hazard a pretty confident guess that she is white with an Anglo-Saxon surname, that she speaks English as a first language, that she is not an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, that she does not live with a disability, that she is straight, that she is neurotypical, that she lives in a city and has a job and that she has a wide platform to advocate for change and to be visible.

And look around our parliaments. Look at who appears on our television screens, in our advertising and on the covers of our magazines. There is an opportunity for us to do better, on International Women’s Day and every day. Look at the women who are missing from this conversation. Think of how we can and should and must make women of colour, women of diverse ages and backgrounds and cultures and identities and lived experiences the centre of the work that we do to raise them up and to listen to them. Think of making way to ensure that the full breadth of their experiences and aspirations is understood and heard and gets the respect that it deserves. This is how we ‘Break the bias’, the very theme of this International Women’s Day.