International Women's Day
Today, the 8th of March, is International Women' s Day.
With well over a century of history and change, the first International Women's Day (IWD) was held in March 1911. IWD isn't country, group or organization specific. It's a day of collective global activism and celebration that belongs to all those committed to forging women's equality.
World-renowned feminist, journalist and activist, Gloria Steinem, reportedly once explained:
"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights."
At Heathmont College, we've reached out to our community to talk about this important day. Please learn and enjoy reading reflections, interviews and poetry by some of our staff and students.
Interview with Kerryn Sandford
Interviewed and transcribed by Lillian Davis, Year 10
Who inspires you and why?
I draw inspiration from a number of different people and have done so over the years. From the very beginning, people like my mother have always been a big inspiration to me. My mum was one of the key leading inspirations for me becoming a teacher. My mum grew up really poor and had to leave school very early. So, pretty much just as she started high school she had to leave and go to work to support her family and I know that she always felt that she missed out because she hadn’t been able to get an education the way most people do. For me, that was always a driving force behind for why I went into education, and why I chose certain pathways within that space. So, I’ve always been wanting to work to make sure that girls and other people, who might have barriers to education and are unable to access education. And obviously, looking forward, more recently, I’ve drawn inspiration from people like Jacinda Ardern, who is a very strong political member, who I think always led with kindness as her core principle. Then the mother of Cassius Turvey, who is a mother up in Queensland whose son was brutally attacked. Her response in the way that she dealt with that event, and just the humanity and forgiveness that she demonstrated, and continues to demonstrate now, has always been really inspiring for me.
What challenges have you overcome?
I like to think of a challenge as something that helps us grow, and I’ve certainly had some deeply challenging experiences in my time, so I was a resident of King Lake, during the time the Black Saturday fires came through, and at that time my children were very young, my eldest was just about to go into kinder, and I had joined the kinder community at the end of 2008, and my youngest son was in the childcare centre and when the fires came through, the kinder and the childcare centre burned down, and being on the committee, I was a part of helping to redevelop those facilities, and it was a very challenging time and a very challenging piece of work, but it was probably one of the things I’m most proud of, across my years of working, and it was volunteer work, so I didn’t get paid for it, bit an experience that very much changed how I looked at things and also helped me to develop an understanding that everyone walks around with their own challenges, and you have to be kind, even when people are being aggressive or difficult there’s a reason that sits behind that difficulty and you need to be kind about how you manage those interactions with people who perhaps aren’t always ideal.
How do you balance your passions with work?
It’s interesting, passion is not how I’d describe it. I am passionate about my work is worth mentioning. If I’m using the word passion, I’m usually describing how I feel about what I do. I am passionate about learning. I love learning. It’s probably one of the key things that drew me into teaching. I didn’t start a teaching degree after school, I did a Bachelor of Science, and I loved learning about the things that I was learning about. Then what I discovered is that I loved sharing that love of learning with others - not just about the content, I loved being able to help somebody discover their own passions, and their own strengths. Or, just achieve something that they haven’t done beforehand. So, balancing my passions with my work is pretty easy, because my passion is my work. Outside of work, I enjoy other things, I enjoy getting fit and I love painting and drawing. I do that generally on holidays. And I love reading, I love to escape into a book. So, during holiday periods in particular, I will do that as often as I can. So, it’s generally not too difficult, but I try to load my holidays with opportunities that sometimes work can pull me away from.
How do you empower other women?
That’s a great question. It’s something as well that is very important to understand. In this world, it is so important to support others. We are better together. So, to empower other women is a matter of really ensuring that you’re providing them with opportunities, but also providing them with the support to take on those opportunities. I mentor women, I mentor men as well, I mentor people in general. But, that mentoring, and that guidance and support is something that is really important.
What advice would you give to young girls?
I think the advice I’d give to young girls is to not limit themselves. We hear and see so many examples of young girls limiting themselves; thinking that they’re not good enough or that they can't do stuff. Certainly in the areas of STEM. The STEM disciplines are an area that we know there’s a massive underrepresentation of women. Despite the fact that there’s no evidence at all to suggest that females are any less capable in those areas. If anything, there’s a lot of strengths that females bring to those disciplines. So, my advice would be to be careful not to limit yourself, look for those things that interest you and engage you, don’t worry about who’s sitting around you, step up, do what matters to you, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Then reach out as well - making sure that if you develop the right networks, you can overcome the barriers that might be put in your way because you are female.
Interview with Marijke Graham
Interviewed by Evie Taylor, Year 12
Ms Graham agreed to be interviewed by the Gazette team for International Women’s Day, saying she ‘loves International Women’s Day’ and classifies herself as a ‘feminist’.
During a sunny lunchtime, the interview below took place.
Do you have a female role model?
‘My maternal grandmother had 7 children and lived through WW2, working for the navy. She moved from the Netherlands to Australia with 3 children and spoke 5 languages. She was independent and a public speaker, a survivor of family violence and a volunteer in her community. She was hit by a bus, which left her physically disabled for the rest of her life. But that never stopped her from being a force to be reckoned with.’
‘I also had a neighbour, a family friend. She’s an outspoken, political woman who always argued for her point to be heard. She’s physically disabled, but didn’t ever let that stop her or define her.’
More recently, Ms Graham has noticed ‘female leaders in our community’ doing ‘amazing, empowering stuff’. She says it’s nice to see ‘genuine’ people in roles of value in our community, lifting others up alongside them.
Do you have something you want to tell younger girls to remember?
For International Women’s Day 2024, the emphasis is on ‘Count Her In!’ Ms Graham really likes this focus, urging people to ‘be an ally’, and allow an ‘emphasis to be put on speaking up for others’.
She says that it’s important to ‘tap someone on the shoulder’ and be ‘thoughtful’ about recognising, ‘Hey, you know someone who would like this opportunity’, and then telling them about it.
She urges people to strive for ‘more women in leadership positions’, saying that she would not be where she is or have access to the opportunities she has without ‘believing in myself and others supporting me as well’.
Do you have a story that you would like to share this International Women’s Day?
‘In a previous public job, I often had to interact with older males who were not always respectful. They would ask me, “What’s your role?” while I was wearing a badge that clearly described it, and then would say “You’re too young” when I answered them anyway – and, knowing the age requirement, I wasn’t, and couldn’t be mistaken for it. It was often condescending, especially when a younger man was in the same position I was and was never questioned about his age.’
Ms Graham was able to turn this common interaction underlined with misogyny back on the people who would ask her this question by ‘reflecting it back to them’ and making it ‘general’ instead of specific to her.
Her patience in this repetitive situation is immensely admirable, and highlights an experience that many young women are able to relate to.
Is there anything you are looking forward to seeing in the future, in relation to women’s roles?
‘A lot more freedom. We’ve scratched the surface with feminism and significant wins, like the right to vote and access to education, but not a lot has changed – we’ve probably not gone as far in some areas as we think we have. I would love to see a broader awareness of what it means to be woman, in all different ways, and a change to uneven balance between genders in workforces.’
She also thinks that equal representation in leadership is ‘disruptive in a cool way’, and that Heathmont College specifically understands that ‘thinking at leadership levels is flexible and considerate of gender equity’. ‘We have an accurate portrayal of a merit-based system here, walking the talk instead of just talking the talk, and it’s really nice to be a part of.’
The Gazette Team thanks Ms Graham for her time and opinions, and highly recommend her as an easy person to talk to, if the feeling arises!
"Gift of the Gab"
The first time I was cat-called, I was twelve.
The funny thing was, I smiled. Call it instinct, naivety, or simply a conditioned response to confrontation. Better yet, call it swallowed discomfort.
But when I shared the encounter with my wide-eyed mother later that day, she gave me a grocery list of advice as if weaving the same yarn from the long line of women who preceded her – advice seemingly etched into the collective conscious of womanhood:
Take corners with caution. Sit at the back of a train carriage. No earphones at night. Place your hand over the drink you order. Car keys double as a weapon, and don’t you forget about stilettos.
Now, I took these with a grain of salt (besides, where was I going to get car keys from?) but by far the best thing she taught me was to be loud.
So when a man lecherously leered at the schoolgirl on the train, I stood between them. When I witnessed a gentleman grope a pregnant woman on the tram, I informed the entire carriage. And when Joe Blow couldn’t comprehend a simple “no” from a friend, I happily translated without the use of DuoLingo.
My mother taught me that every day I should brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue. And so every Women’s Day, I can’t help but think of the very person who gifted me the gab in the first place.
Victoria (Tory) Tedeschi (Ba Hons, PhD)
Literature & English Teacher
"Girl, Pt. 2"
I don’t think I was scared.
I don’t even think I noticed, the first time.
My music was probably too loud,
I was probably with friends and not paying attention,
I was probably day dreaming
The first time I got a car horn honked at me.
It happened again last night.
I am lucky
(so, so incredibly lucky)
That this, in the grand scheme of things
Is all that happened.
But I twist my keys between my fingers every time I walk home from work alone regardless.
The girls I know have worse stories.
The women I know have more tales than I do.
And yes – to a certain degree
These tales and stories and moments
Define us.
You want to know what they also do?
UNITE us.
Women are the strongest people I know.
The keys between my fingers are sharper than any reaching hand,
The music in my ears is louder than any so-called ‘compliment’
The strength in the women around me is more than you could ever know.
We are goddamn powerful.
I can still day dream with metal clenched in my fist.
Evie Taylor
College Captain
"What does it mean to be a girl?"
Does it mean curves
And dips
And swells
Of body parts that we CAN’T CONTROL
But are judged for regardless?
Does it mean to hide
And tuck
And pour
Ourselves into clothing
That is deemed acceptable by society?
Does it mean wax
And shave
And change our bodies
To suit or fit into
A FANTASY that we did not consent to?
Maybe.
And then again
Maybe NOT.
Does it mean catcalls
And harassment
And horror stories
To the point where
We self-impose curfews for SAFETY?
Does it mean cooking
And cleaning
And OBEYING
Phantom partners that we are yet to meet
But doomed to serve for eternity?
Does it mean being taught
At an age younger than double digits
That we are weaker
Worth less
Than the men around us?
MAYBE.
And then again
Maybe not.
What if
Being a girl means
Having to PROVE
In every moment of existence
That you deserve
To be where you are.
What if
Being a girl means
That you are taught
By the right people
How to fight for your needs
Your words
Your BODY
Even when you are too young to truly
Understand
The NECESSITY to fight for everything.
Being a girl could mean all of these things
And then again
None.
But if someone asked
What
Being a girl meant TO ME
I think…
It could mean
APPRECIATING the struggle to find clothes in your size
And determining your style
Because of that.
It could mean
Learning that you will be paid less
For the same work that a man does
And growing to give thanks for the small doses of pleasure
That SUCCEEDING gives you.
It could mean
Discovering that you want to stand up
For every other girl
And every other injustice that they have had to face
Simply because of something that they could not control
Such as GENDER.
It could mean
Recognising that all walks of life
Encounter the same INEQUITY
That girls face every single day
And are silent about it
In the same way
That girls are.
BUT.
Being a girl
Does not mean
That you should have any reason
To invalidate
Or ridicule
Or despise
Another human being
For their life
And for the things that are OUT OF THEIR CONTROL.
Race
Sexuality
Religion
Trauma
Family
Birthplace
Can all effect someone’s life
The same way
Gender does
For girls.
That is why
I believe
That all girls
Should know
That they are HUMAN too.
And being human can mean
Being given the POWER
The intelligence
The beauty
The strength
The empathy
To CHANGE THE WORLD
In any way that you could possibly want to.
Evie Taylor
College Captain
A woman of many talents provides inspiration!
Alison Richards, Learning Support - Literacy
One woman who is an inspiration to me is George McEncroe, a Melbourne comedian and radio host who founded Shebah, an all-female rideshare company. She recognised there was a demand from female passengers for safe transport options and also that women valued the opportunity to build their own business as drivers, giving them financial independence and flexibility.
Shebah has continued to grow and is now Australia wide. George showed her commitment and strength, working with the tech and transport industries which struggled to acknowledge the need for an all-female service or that a woman would be able to build a start up and a successful app.
It is inspiring to see women in the entertainment industry who have formed their own companies, for example Margot Robbie and Nicole Kidman and who find projects which present positive female roles, or take ownership of their creative output, like Taylor Swift.
Working together and supporting and encouraging each other is so important. We can share ideas, have fun and know that our efforts are valued and recognised.