Australia’s political leaders joined UN Women Australia this morning at the annual International Women’s Day (IWD) Parliamentary Breakfast at Parliament House to officially launch International Women’s Month.
Co-hosted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, the event brought together over 350 guests to reflect on progress and renew commitments to gender equality.
The breakfast featured keynote addresses by Albanese and Dutton, as well as Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong and an official address from Christine Arab, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at UN Women.
Albanese emphasised the importance of collective action, saying: “Creating opportunity for women is more than a measure of our national fairness– it’s a driver of our national success.”
“It grows our workforce, lifts our standards, boosts productivity, liberates the talent and capacity we need to build Australia’s future. When women ‘march forward’, our whole nation makes progress,” he said, referencing this year’s IWD theme ‘March Forward: For ALL Women and Girls’.
The theme marks the significant milestone being 30 years since the adoption of the UN Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It calls for bold action to address persistent inequalities and ensure no woman or girl is left behind in the global push for gender equality.
Considered the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted by the United Nations in 1995, setting an agenda for achieving women’s empowerment across 12 critical areas, from economic empowerment and political participation to climate action and media representation.
Acknowledging progress made on gender equality, Dutton said: “In launching International Women’s Day, we acknowledge that there’s more to be done for women’s equality, women’s economic empowerment and women’s security.”
“But we also celebrate the progress that has been made – especially in democratic societies like Australia. We should not forget that the respect for women and respect for gender equality which exists in Australia – the values we uphold and cherish – are still absent from so many parts of the world.”
Highlighting Australia’s commitment to advancing equality globally, Senator Wong said the nation “is always better off when our region and world is more prosperous and more secure”.
“We know that gender equality reduces poverty, strengthens social cohesion, unlocks economic productivity and enhances prosperity for current and future generations. So as we advance our interests in the world, policies that contribute to women and girls’ empowerment are central to our national interest.”
Speaking to the continued need for progress, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific at UN Women, Christine Arab said: “Thirty years ago, the world came together to adopt the Beijing Platform for Action for Women.”
“This is the world’s most comprehensive global agenda for advancing women’s rights. Yet, its promises remain unfulfilled for far too many women and girls,” she added.
“Three decades on, we must come together to accelerate progress—ensuring that every woman and girl can live free from violence, enjoy equal opportunities, and lead with confidence and dignity in all areas of life.”
Christina Ryan
Australia’s International Gender Equality Strategy
The latest UN women data shows that at current rates of progress, it could take 137 more years to end extreme poverty among women.
Around 2.4 billion women of working age do not have equal economic opportunities. And sexual and gender-based violence is rife, with an estimated one in three women experiencing physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.
Responding to escalating threats to women’s rights globally, the federal government has launched Australia’s International Gender Equality Strategy, outlining how Australia is driving gender equality in the nation’s international engagement.
Executive Director of ActionAid Australia, Michelle Higelin has applauded the new strategy saying it “lays the foundations for urgently needed leadership on gender equality at a time of alarming global pushback on women’s rights”.
“In response to the coordinated anti-rights movement and its attacks on women and LGBTQIA+ peoples, we encourage Australia to take a bold feminist and rights based approach that tackles the systemic discrimination faced by women and gender diverse people,” said Higelin, praising, in particular, the strategy’s prioritisation of sexual and reproductive health rights, in the wake of the Trump administration re-introducing the Global Gag Rule on abortion services globally.
“We are also pleased to see a focus on the intersection between gender equality and climate change,” she added.
“The integration of gender equality across the breadth of Australia’s foreign policy is a positive step forward, including the strategy’s focus on Australia’s trade policy and women, peace and security. It is critical the Government now implements this by bringing a feminist analysis to existing trade agreements and in its responses to conflict across the world.”
“The implementation of the strategy will require a massive and sustained boost in targeted funding for gender equality initiatives across the Australian aid budget and we want to see the Government commit additional funds to this work in the 2025/26 federal budget.”