[1]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 [2] ‘made by women and programmed by women’ on IWD.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper attacked the ABC as ‘patronising’. Pedestrian.tv [3] 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 [4]‘s drivel yesterday was part of @rupertmurdoch [5]‘s anti ABC campaign. https://t.co/5niIvCi3lu [6]
— Chris Mac (@ChrisMac1270) March 7, 2017 [7]
#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 [8] means calling out casual sexism and questioning entrenched practices that favour male dominated decision-making #IWD [9]
— Rhiannon West (@West_Rhi) March 7, 2017 [10]
Yesterday's take on the Glass ceiling by @GlenLeLievre [11] #IWD [9] pic.twitter.com/3v2MAOygzZ [12]
— Crikey.com.au (@crikey_news) March 8, 2017 [13]
Today we honour #internationalwomensday [14], from #equalpay [15] to workplace safety. @unionsaustralia [16] support women. @CFMEU [17] @vanbadham [18] #auspol [19] pic.twitter.com/IhRCcawMMB [20]
— The Delegate (@solotolo68) March 7, 2017 [21]
Domestic violence has been high on the agenda in Australia. ‘We say no more’ [22] 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 [23]#BeBoldForChange [8] & speak out against the silence of violence
#wesaynomore [24] https://t.co/CzYzFEJcTV [25] pic.twitter.com/1M3wlx3jle [26]— wesaynomore (@wesay_nomore) March 7, 2017 [27]
The business world was keen to trumpet any good news on social media:
#construction [28] sector lobby group appoints first women CEO read more at @HerCanberra [29] https://t.co/Df7ag21QGa [30]
— Master Builders (@MBA_Aust) March 8, 2017 [31]
To drive gender equality, we need bold ideas. That's why we're introducing our new recruitment initiative #IWD17 [32] https://t.co/Zs70coMVTR [33]
— Andrew Penn (@andy_penn) March 7, 2017 [34]
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) achievements were popular on Twitter:
It's #internationalwomensday [14] Big shout out to all #womeninstem [35] changing the world! You are amazing! #BeBoldForChange [8] pic.twitter.com/GVcyEf1iNW [36]
— Li Kheng Chai (@MsLiChai) March 7, 2017 [37]
Wish #InternationalWomensDay [38] was everyday! Love #GirlsToTheFront [39] @triplej [40] & #womeninSTEM [41] posts making microscope work fun! #DressLikeAWoman [42] pic.twitter.com/DM2weWajea [43]
— Monique Smith (@MoniqueSmith01) March 7, 2017 [44]
In 1887, these seven young women fought hard to be admitted into the Melbourne Medical School, 25 years after the course had begun #IWD2017 [23] pic.twitter.com/0Tqah6X4pN [45]
— UniMelb MDHS (@UniMelbMDHS) March 8, 2017 [46]
Prominent feminist Anne Summers published The Women's Manifesto [47] for IWD. Its four equality goals for 2022 are:
- Legislated equal pay for all women in all jobs
- Decriminalisation of abortion in New South Wales and Queensland
- Specialist domestic violence courts in every state of Australia
- Gender quotas dictating that women make up 50 per cent of all parliamentarians, all cabinets and other ministries and directors of all public company and government boards.
There were marches across the nation. At the Melbourne rally, the ‘sign says it all':
#IWD2017 [23] march with the @PlanAustralia [48] crew in Melbourne – sign says it all! pic.twitter.com/SvvEUrHyJY [49]
— Susanne Legena (@susannelegena) March 8, 2017 [50]
Finally, volunteer lawyers carried on the struggle at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre [51] well into the evening:
7.53pm on #IWD2017 [23] & our brilliant @ASRC1 [52] women lawyers going strong running Wednesday Night Human Rights Clinic to #KeepThemSafe [53]. What ?? pic.twitter.com/ITaH5U4UyZ [54]
— Kon Karapanagiotidis (@Kon__K) March 8, 2017 [55]