‘Girls To The Front’: Celebrating International Women’s Day 2017 in Australia · Global Voices
Kevin Rennie

Girls To The Front on triple j – triplej screenshot of YouTube video
Many events were organised across Australia for International Women's Day 2017 in order to celebrate victories and highlight struggles that are still ongoing.
Even before March 8, one media empire copped criticism from another for its plans. The national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), scheduled female presenters for the day.
Moreover, Triple J, one of the ABC's digital radio stations targeted at listeners between the ages of 18 and 25, featured  music ‘made by women and programmed by women’ on IWD.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper attacked the ABC as ‘patronising’. Pedestrian.tv explained:
[Daily Telegraph] national political editor Sharri Markson has taken issue with the ABC's apparently “patronising” and “tokenistic” push to promote gender equality in the workplace by announcing its male presenters will take a backseat to female talent tomorrow, on International Women's Day.
Twitter user Chris Mac blamed the paper's owner:
At least one commercial radio station doing same thing. @dailytelegraph‘s drivel yesterday was part of @rupertmurdoch‘s anti ABC campaign. https://t.co/5niIvCi3lu
— Chris Mac (@ChrisMac1270) March 7, 2017
#IWD2017 #internationalwomensday and #girlstothefront all trended down under on Twitter. The 2017 theme #beboldforchange was also a popular hashtag.
Traditional concerns such as sexism, the pay gap and lack of women in management roles were just some of the issues raised under the hashtags.
For me #BeBoldForChange means calling out casual sexism and questioning entrenched practices that favour male dominated decision-making #IWD
— Rhiannon West (@West_Rhi) March 7, 2017
Yesterday's take on the Glass ceiling by @GlenLeLievre #IWD pic.twitter.com/3v2MAOygzZ
— Crikey.com.au (@crikey_news) March 8, 2017
Today we honour #internationalwomensday, from #equalpay to workplace safety. @unionsaustralia support women. @CFMEU @vanbadham #auspol pic.twitter.com/IhRCcawMMB
— The Delegate (@solotolo68) March 7, 2017
Domestic violence has been high on the agenda in Australia. ‘We say no more’ is a campaign with a particular focus on the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in this area:
International Women's Day #IWD2017#BeBoldForChange & speak out against the silence of violence
#wesaynomore https://t.co/CzYzFEJcTV pic.twitter.com/1M3wlx3jle
— wesaynomore (@wesay_nomore) March 7, 2017
The business world was keen to trumpet any good news on social media:
#construction sector lobby group appoints first women CEO read more at @HerCanberra https://t.co/Df7ag21QGa
— Master Builders (@MBA_Aust) March 8, 2017
To drive gender equality, we need bold ideas. That's why we're introducing our new recruitment initiative #IWD17 https://t.co/Zs70coMVTR
— Andrew Penn (@andy_penn) March 7, 2017
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) achievements were popular on Twitter:
It's #internationalwomensday Big shout out to all #womeninstem changing the world! You are amazing! #BeBoldForChange pic.twitter.com/GVcyEf1iNW
— Li Kheng Chai (@MsLiChai) March 7, 2017
Wish #InternationalWomensDay was everyday! Love #GirlsToTheFront @triplej & #womeninSTEM posts making microscope work fun! #DressLikeAWoman pic.twitter.com/DM2weWajea
— Monique Smith (@MoniqueSmith01) March 7, 2017
In 1887, these seven young women fought hard to be admitted into the Melbourne Medical School, 25 years after the course had begun #IWD2017 pic.twitter.com/0Tqah6X4pN
— UniMelb MDHS (@UniMelbMDHS) March 8, 2017
Prominent feminist Anne Summers published The Women's Manifesto for IWD. Its four equality goals for 2022 are:
There were marches across the nation. At the Melbourne rally, the ‘sign says it all':
#IWD2017 march with the @PlanAustralia crew in Melbourne – sign says it all! pic.twitter.com/SvvEUrHyJY
— Susanne Legena (@susannelegena) March 8, 2017
Finally, volunteer lawyers carried on the struggle at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre well into the evening:
7.53pm on #IWD2017 & our brilliant @ASRC1 women lawyers going strong running Wednesday Night Human Rights Clinic to #KeepThemSafe. What ?? pic.twitter.com/ITaH5U4UyZ
— Kon Karapanagiotidis (@Kon__K) March 8, 2017