International Women's Day celebration a show of local support

MANSFIELD’S women came out in force to celebrate and to show solidarity at the International Women’s Day (IWD) luncheon hosted by WINE (Women in the North East) at the golf club last Friday. The theme for IWD on March 8 focused on the need to “Accelerate Action” and the importance of swift and decisive steps to achieve gender equality. Guests were welcomed by WINE committee members including president Gemma Gray and encouraged to get involved in an organisation that wants to see women flourish and grow. Mansfield’s Cr Mandy Treasure reflected on the importance of relationships you have throughout your life and the women you know and how they become your “best memories”. “WINE nurtures those relationships and events like this help to connect and break down barriers,” said Cr Treasure. The continuing gender pay gap was highlighted with figures quoted by Community Bank Enterprises director Nicole Nally who noted it had decreased with Australia now ranked globally 26th in 2025 compared to 43 in 2023. She said despite these improvements, “still a lot of work to do in this space and to think about how you can shape these”. Keynote speaker Dr Nicki Vincent public sector gender equality commissioner quoted figures about the high incidence of domestic violence against women by an intimate partner resulting in the death of one woman every 11 days in Australia. Dr Vincent also noted in the workplace there was a high gender gap and level of gender harassment. “Much higher proportion of women in our country work part time, women in other countries can work full time with flexible hours,” said Dr Vincent. “We have outdated gender stereotypes and a world of work designed by men,” she said. Victoria has led the way with an equality act legislated in 2021 with 300 organisations involved that all undertake vigorous audits every two years compelling them to be more transparent, Dr Vincent explained. “Transparency does drive change,” she said, adding the need to cast a gender lens over every service. Other examples of gender inequality included women enduring long toilet queues in public with lots of reasons why women needed longer than men and car crash dummies based on larger built male bodies. The next speaker Michelle Huntington reached for the skies in her bid to become a commercial pilot, but it came at great personal cost and unexpected challenges. As a seven year old after experiencing the excitement of being in the cockpit of aircraft her dream of being a pilot was born. “My parents encouraged me but thought I would grow out of it. “But I got push back from the careers advisor,” she said. Ms Huntington had studied hard at maths and science in anticipation of a career in aviation but was encouraged to become an artist instead and completed an arts degree despite it not being her dream. “I was good at colouring in,” she laughed. After a marriage breakup and a chance meeting with someone who was learning to fly at the Tamworth Flying Academy, “My dream of being a pilot was back on,” she said. Ms Huntington shared recollections of her first flying lesson in February 2000 when she was throwing up and no sick bags available on the small plane. Her journey as a single working mother with a two year old is filled with tales of discrimination against women whether it was applying for a loan, male aircraft passengers behaving badly or being employed as a commercial pilot in a male dominated industry. Her captain’s career was derailed prior to COVID due to grossly inappropriate behaviour by male colleagues. “I was totally disrespected, this was my aircraft, and I worked hard to get here,” Ms Huntington said. After reporting the incident, she endured nine months of hell while it was investigated but finally was done with the fight and accepted a redundancy. To sum up her story and as an encouragement to the rest of the women there, “Everything I have done has prepared me for now, and I’m not done yet”.

International Women's Day celebration a show of local support

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