Future Women, an organisation committed to achieving gender equality in Australian workplaces, will be holding an International Women's Day event this year to celebrate and amplify the voices of First Nations women.
Reflecting on the International Women's Day theme: "March Forward", Future Women acknowledges the struggles and the triumphs of women who have come before, and come together to light the way for those who will follow in their footsteps. To march forward and turn promises into progress, the movement must include all women.
Taking place on Friday March 7, the International Women's Day Lunch will be held at the Four Seasons on beautiful Gadigal Country.
Many First Nations speakers will join event host Wangkumara and Barkindji woman, Gabrielle Ebsworth. Speakers will exchange stories, knowledge, experiences and insights on how women can address the issues that persist, and how to advance equality for all.
Event speakers will include BlackCard facilitator Yarraka Bayles, Land On Heart chief executive officer Lisa Sargo, 13YARN national program manager Marjorie Anderson and head of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Strategy at Our Watch, Regan Mitchell.
Ms Ebsworth, who is also project lead of Indigenous Health at Australasian College for Emergency Medicine, said attendees can "expect to be impressed by the incredible First Nations women sharing their stories of love, community and culture in a room for of women who are all looking to make meaningful change".
"Each year, this event just gets bigger and better, and the stories of hard work and justice just keep building. There will be laughs, tears, wisdom and new connections," she said.
"On a personal note, events with Future Women are always particularly special to me as 10 per cent of the proceeds from the breakfast go towards the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation, a scholarship program that I was a recipient of in high school."
Ms Ebsworth said there is still more the public can do to see greater amplification of First Nations voices.
"I think Australia is improving in amplifying First Nations voices in some spaces more than others but, as someone who is very rarely satisfied with "change" in this country, I think we can do better. A problem within "feminist" spaces predominately is white women sharing the stories of First Nations women, instead of simply stepping back and letting us speak for ourselves," she told Style Up.
"We don't need people to "give us a voice", we already have one; we need people to start paying attention to what we're saying and commit to making real change. Steps towards progress should be celebrated, but we can't conflate celebration with complacency, there's still a lot of work to be done."
Future Women founder and managing director Helen McCabe said: "We offer a safe, respectful environment where debate, discussion and difference are celebrated."
This event is made possible with the support of major partner, Witchery, which is partnering with Future Women for the sixth time on this flagship FW event.
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