Imagine an annual event which is exclusively focused on achieving gender equality, which attracts something in the order of 8,000 – 9,000 delegates from across the globe, and which produces a road...
Category: Feature
A Summer of Hope: Harriet’s story
After two long years of the global COVID-19 pandemic, so many of us find ourselves tired and lacking energy for even basic tasks. Facing a new year does not fill us with the joy of possibility as it...
Lismore floods: ‘We escaped with our lives’
After her Lismore flat was flooded in February, independent disability carer Lauren De Groot is living in a borrowed caravan with her young daughter, Freya. Her losses are mounting up. Just last...
A reckoning: Australian women in film and TV
In 1957, aspiring cinematographer and pioneering film maker Lilias Fraser approached the Commonwealth Film Unit for a job. With two films already under her belt, and the head of the unit applauding...
Banding together to combat gender bias on Wikipedia
When you stop to think about it, it is mind-boggling that of the millions of biographies on Wikipedia, only 19% of them are about women. This statistic is even less for those working in the...
A (feminist) love story saved by radical empathy
It’s something each of us might sometimes wonder. How do you change someone’s mind? This unexpected love story is the ultimate lesson. It could easily have been one of those Tinder-dates-from-hell...
The “weather event”: Australia’s stormy #MeToo movement
The #MeToo movement has powered an insurgency against sexism and sexual violence in Australia. From once-isolated survivors to political staffers, women everywhere are refusing to keep men’s...
How gender bias can impact a life
Last month, feminist editor and writer Zoya Patel delivered a speech at the Canberra Labor Club that blew the crowd away. Through the lens of her own family, Zoya reflected on how gender bias...
The compelling reason women must help negotiate peace
In 2011, I travelled to Afghanistan as part of a defence sub-committee delegation. I was the only woman. During the program, I met with two Australian female soldiers for a briefing on the issues...