Happy International Women’s Day!

This year's theme had us striving to create #BalanceForBetter. Particularly, creating gender-balanced boardrooms, governments and media coverage; gender parity of employees; and gender balance in wealth.

International Women's Day (IWD) first began in 1911 and was supported by over 1 million people. Today, it is celebrated globally without any attachment to any group or organisation.

At Sirius People, we support people's success — including the success of our female staff. Our management and People & Culture teams organised tickets for events held by empowered women in both Melbourne and Sydney for our tribe to attend.

Here are the Siriusly amazing IWD 2019 events we attended:

Western Health’s Inaugural International Women’s Day Breakfast

Our Melbourne team organised to take some of our clients to the Western Health’s Inaugural International Women’s Day breakfast on Tuesday, March 5. Their panel of speakers was “Tackling Taboos” and discussing how they handled professional and personal issues on the path toward gender equality. All proceeds from the event went to the Joan Kirner Women’s And Children’s Hospital.

Women in Industry: Building Inclusive Teams for Success

Some of our Melbourne team joined General Assembly for the Melbourne International Women’s Day business breakfast to discuss the lack of gender parity in most industries. The panellists spoke about unconscious biases in company culture and actionable ways managers can encourage gender parity in the hiring process.

“It was great to hear from a panel of leaders, both female and male, on diversity in the workplace, their experiences and what they are doing to contribute further to equality for women. Not only that but the empowerment for women to re-skill in new areas that may not have been promoted for them at the time of their early educations. It is never too late to make your dream job a reality."  — Angela Morris

Women in Industry: Building Inclusive Teams for Success

Some of our Sydney team joined General Assembly for the Sydney International Women’s Day business breakfast to discuss the lack of gender parity in most industries. The panelists spoke about topics not only affecting women in the workplace, but also organisations at all levels.

DFSI International Women’s Day 2019

Some of our Sydney team attended the Department of Finance, Services, and Innovation’s IWD celebrations, where they learned about what this year’s theme, “Balance For Better,” means for men and women in DFSI.

“The theme for the afternoon was "Balance" and how as a society we need to create a more balanced environment for both men and women. This included splitting parental leave more equally between men and women (only 1% of men are currently doing this!) and encouraging flexible working hours to everyone, not just those with children. This would create a happier working environment for everyone as everyone benefits from the balance of equality. I liked that both men and women took part in the talks — rather than just all women.” — Annabel Preacher

“It was a great event and it was amazing to hear Natalie Goldman, CEO of Flexcareers, speak about flexibility in the workplace. Flexibility is not simply being able to "work from home", but it's about having the flexibility to enjoy your personal life and smashing goals at work too.” — Florence Yeung

… But IWD isn’t over quite yet!

We’re carrying over the International Women’s Day 2019 #BalanceForBetter message over to our Tech Talks event on March 28!

Stephanie Campanella will be joining us to speak about her story of a graphic designer diving into the tech world, in her “Ladies Who Lead” talk. Meet Stephanie and our other two great speakers here and make sure to get your free event ticket today!