Shannon KennyInternational Women’s Day is a holiday celebrated annually on the 8th of March. It first started in 1911 with a women’s rights movement in the industrialisation era to fight for gender quality. It’s ultimately a day dedicated to celebrating the importance of women. This year’s campaign theme was #breakthebias. The idea was to share this hashtag on social media so we can spread awareness and encourage people to take action.
As International Women’s Day comes around each year, it encourages us to reflect on the women who have encouraged us to be better and reach our potential. In honour of this holiday, Aula News talked to three students about what women inspire them and why.
Mia Neukrich
“When thinking about women that inspire me, I instantly think about all the closest ones around me. My mum will always be the first”. Mia described beautifully just how big of an impact her mother had on her growing up as a woman. Mia mentions how her mum was her first role model and will always be her number one inspiration. But, her mum was not the only woman who inspires her. Mia’s female friends helped her shape who she is today. “Being able to create a sisterhood around me that will support me whenever and wherever is so inspiration itself”. Mia states just how open-minded, strong, kind, fierce and unapologetic women are and how that influenced her character as a female
Anna-Lisa De Boer
Anna-Lisa is a media student with great love for fashion, there was no surprise when she answered this question saying Valeria Lipovestsky is her biggest female inspiration. Valeria is a powerful woman who owns an empire on social media but also in the fashion world as an entrepreneur. On top of this, she is a mother to 3 boys. Valeria is known for posting realistic videos about her life. “She inspires me because she juggles it’s all”. Anna-Lisa has been inspired by Valeria as she wants to be a successful and part of a loving family at the same time and she has helped her realise that she can achieve it all. “If I really want to do something, I know I can achieve it with a lot of hard work, I see that in her content every day which inspires me to be the best version of me”.
Petra MacEvilly
Women have been an important part of the building of Petra’s character. The women who break society’s rules and fight for independence inspire her the most. Sportswoman Katie Taylor who has achieved great accomplishments have shown her that to live limitlessly as possible. “Within my private life, I am lucky to have multiple women who inspire me for many reasons such as family members and my diverse group of female friends”. Petra’s mother provided her with a stable and loving home where everyone no matter who they are or where they come from are respected. Her friends also inspire her daily and help her appreciate life and how to show loyalty, compassion and honesty. “Representation matters for women in the public sphere, private sphere and industries because what you cannot see, you cannot be”.
The annual tradition of International Women’s Day encourages us to reflect on women who have influenced and inspired us to embrace womanhood and to reach our full potential despite gender stereotypes and bias. It is important not to lose sight of what International Women’s Day is really about which is celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. To celebrate this day, this fun article gives a great list of top feminist films and series to watch in order to spread awareness for gender injustice.
Whilst researching, we have gathered information from Catalyst and compiled it into an infographic to give our readers a deeper understanding of how the COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the bias against women in the workplace.
