FORCES FOR CHANGE
Difficult conversations were front of mind at marie claire’s annual International Women’s Day event in early March, as five powerhouse women shared their fight to be heard
After Matildas mania captivated the nation and the Barbie movie saw women worldwide reclaiming their “girlhood”, 2023 was unofficially coined the year of the girl. The economy also reaped the rewards of these female-led projects, with the Matildas and the Women’s World Cup generating $7.6 billion and Barbie grossing $1.4 billion globally.
Riding high on the heels of such amazing successes, marie claire celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8, hosting an awesome event featuring an incredible lineup of powerhouse women at Hinchcliff House in Sydney’s CBD. Held annually, this year’s
IWD event was presented in partnership with Pandora and supported by Napoleon.
Indigenous writer and artist Kirli Saunders OAM opened the occasion with a powerful reading from her poetry collection. Then, writer and media personality Melissa Leong, podcaster and author Elizabeth Day, entrepreneur Erin Deering and federal MP Tanya Plibersek, alongside her daughter and founder of The Survivor Hub, Anna Coutts-Trotter, all sat down with marie claire editor Georgie
Abay to share their truths.
Kicking off the panel, Coutts-Trotter spoke about how she survived a domestic abuse relationship when she was just a teenager, and how this led her to form her own charity organisation (The Survivor Hub). Reflecting on what she’s learnt from the experience, CouttsTrotter said, “It’s really important to let [survivors] tell their story in their own way, in their own time, and to support the choices they make. The best thing you can do is stick around and be available for them when they leave the relationship.”
Plibersek was also on hand to offer her perspective, saying that watching her daughter endure the harrowing relationship compelled
her to step away from work. “I knew for certain I wanted to be there, and I wanted to have the flexibility to be there for her,” she told Abay.
Plibersek went on to share her hopes for the next generation of women: “Feminism means that you think every woman everywhere has the right to choose her own path in life. To make her own way, to make her own choice.”
Deering was next up, getting candid about her decision to step away from Triangl, the hugely successful swimwear business she started in 2012 with her then-partner Craig Ellis, and how this also coincided with the end of their relationship. Her biggest takeaway from the experience? “That happiness comes from within. And I didn’t believe that until I lived the other side,” she told Abay.
Then, Leong opened up about the importance of setting boundaries, such as limiting Instagram comments or turning down job opportunities. “[Saying] ‘no’ and understanding your power and your value are things we need to continue to evolve and grow, and to own and celebrate,” she said.
Concluding the event, Day touched on how her measure of success has shifted as her career has evolved. “Success for me now isn’t money based,” she explained, “it’s authenticity based … and showing up as myself in every single scenario. For a really long time I felt pressure to put on a pretence of being better than I thought I was.”
“Success for me now isn’t money based, it’s authenticity based”
– author Elizabeth Day