International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March each year and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women.

This year's theme for IWD is #BreakTheBias. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead. Knowing that bias exists isn't enough, action is needed to level the playing field.

To promote this year's IWD theme, we're encouraging you to have a conversation with friends, family or colleagues about how you can break the bias in your community, workplace or school. When we get together to have a conversation about something important, it helps us gain new perspective and we can enjoy connecting with others. We can also learn something new about the topic.

To help you start meaningful conversations, we've included some handy ‘conversation starters’, which are available at the link below.

You may like to take a moment to reflect and celebrate inspirational Australian women, including First Nations women, by completing the IWD trivia quiz below.

International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, has been observed since the 1900’s and is a day to acknowledge the contributions, accomplishments and achievements of women in all their diversity. It is also a time to recognise that we have a long way to go to achieve equality and equity for all women, especially First Nations women, women of colour, women with a disability and women within the LGBTIQA+ communities.

To find our more about this year's IWD theme #BreakTheBias, click here.

While the rights of women have come a long way in the last hundred years or so – we are not there yet. In Australia

  • On average, one woman is murdered by her current or former partner each week.
  • 1 in 3 women has experienced physical violence since the age of 15.
  • 1 in 5 women has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15.

These statistics are much worse for First Nations women and women with disability.

But it’s more than just violence.

Women working full-time earn 14.2% less than men4, and this is ignoring the fact that women are more likely to be in part-time and casual work.

Women retire with an average of 42% less super than men, increasing women’s risk of poverty and homelessness in retirement.

Women still spend 21 more hours per week than men doing unpaid labour.

When discussing feminism, the terms ‘equality’ and ‘equity’ are both used, sometimes interchangably. So what is the difference?


Equality refers to every individual or group of people having the same access to resources and opportunities.


Equity recognises that there are different circumstances experienced by individuals for different reasons (gender, race, income) and therefore, resources and opportunities should be allocated according to what’s needed to reach an equal outcome.

While the rights of women have come a long way in the last hundred years – we are not there yet.
In Australia:

1 in 5 women
has experienced sexual violence since the age of 15

1 in 3 women
has experienced physical violence since the age of 15

26.2%
of ASX200 boards have at least one woman

Women do 2x
more unpaid care work compared to men

$113k
Superannuation difference between men and women at retirement

14.2%
The gender pay gap between women and men in full-time employment.

Ways to get involved.

  • International Women's Day is the perfect time to talk about gender equity and equality with your friends, co-workers and family. Refer to the ‘Conversation Starter’ section and kick-off a discussion.
  • Take a moment to complete the IWD trivia quiz – how much do you know about Australian women and the pathway toward gender equality?
  • Share this page with someone else who might also like to get involved
  • Read the valuable information above

Murrindindi Shire Council would like to thank YWCA Australia for their International Women's Day toolbox which included resources for Conversation starters and trivia questions. To find out more please visit their website here.