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International Women's Day 2008
To celebrate International Women’s Day in 2008, The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP and the Office for Women hosted an informal morning tea at the Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Fountain (Old Parliament House Rose Gardens) on 11 March.
The Women’s Suffrage Commemorative Fountain is located at the entrance to the House of Representatives garden within a walkway linking Old Parliament House to Constitution Place. The border of the water feature is etched with a passage of the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 and commemorates the 1903 election, in which women voted and stood for Federal Parliament for the first time. A timeline extends from the fountain towards Constitution Place and details names and achievements of significant women in Australian political life from 1902.
In addition to the morning tea, The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP facilitated a panel discussion live from the Main Committee room at Parliament House. The title of the panel discussion was “Working women 100 years on: where we have been; where are we now; and, where are we going?”’ and covered topics such as;
- Pay equity
- Women balancing work and home
- IR issues for women
- Retirement savings for women
- Being successful in the workplace
Panellists
- Sharan Burrow—President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions
- Professor Barbara Pocock—Director of the Centre for Work and Life at the University of South Australia
- Dr dale spender AM—feminist writer and commentator
- Dr Marian Baird—Associate Professor in Work and Organisational Studies and Convenor of the Women and Work Research Group, University of Sydney
- Geraldine Doogue AO—renowned Australian journalist and broadcaster with a distinguished career in news and current affairs.
Access to the panel discussion post event
A link to the International Women’s Day panel discussion broadcast has now been published on the ABC website and can be accessed by clicking on the link below.
The link sits at the bottom of the Unleashed article written by Minister Tanya Plibersek at http://www.abc.net.au/unleashed/stories/s2184740.htm
International Women’s Day 2008 Speeches
- Prime Minister The Hon Kevin Rudd MP
- The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP Minister for Housing Minister for the Status of Women
2008 International Women's Day events across Australia
For information on 2008 registered events across Australia, please select the State or Territory.
ACT | NSW | SA | WA | NT | QLD | VIC | TAS
International Women’s Day – visit the site for International Women’s Day events from all around the world.
UNIFEM Australia – visit the Australian website for the United Nations Fund for Women to read more on the history of International Women's Day and a listing of events around Australia
About International Women's Day
March 8 is celebrated across the world as International Women's Day (IWD) and provides an opportunity to recognise the achievements of women and their contribution to society.
On this day, women can celebrate the progress that has been made but also contemplate those areas of women's lives where more can be done. Women's access to education, health care and paid labour has improved, and legislation that promises equal opportunities for women and respect for their human rights has been adopted in many countries.
However, nowhere in the world can women claim to have all the same rights and opportunities as men, and until we all work together to secure the rights and full potential of women, lasting solutions to social, economic and political problems are unlikely to be found.
On IWD, like any other day, women around the world will suffer as victims of sexual assault, domestic violence and discrimination. In war, women will be raped, families will be shattered and many today remain, displaced, in refugee camps.
We need to see changes that transform relationships between women and men, so women will be able to take greater financial, political and physical control of their lives.