International Women's Day: March Forward For ALL Women and Girls

On 8 March, we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) – a day that shines a light on the incredible contributions of women and reaffirms the need to continue working towards gender equality.

With this year’s theme, ‘March Forward: For ALL Women and Girls’, UN Women Australia is calling “for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind.”

At The University of Queensland (UQ), we are proud to support and amplify the voices of women who are breaking barriers, reshaping policies and igniting movements that are transforming the world.

This IWD, Contact spotlights 5 UQ alumni who embody this spirit. They share how their personal experiences have influenced their work and how we can empower women and girls for generations to come.

Kristy Masella

Kristy (Bachelor of Arts ’96) is a Murri/South Sea Islander woman and Managing Director of Indigenous recruitment and group training company, Aboriginal Employment Strategy Ltd.

Storytelling as a driver for change

“Growing up as an Aboriginal girl in country Queensland, at a time where gender stereotypes and racism were strongly embedded in all elements of society, it was challenging not to feel limited or feel ‘less’ because of my race and gender.

“I was extremely fortunate to have strong women around me from an early age who shared their personal stories of gender inequality and their hope for the future. This experience equipped me with a strong sense of responsibility to do my part in addressing inequities not just for my children and their children, but for all girls and women in my community.

“This early life experience influenced my leadership style by valuing authentic storytelling as a way to influence and inspire change, and as a tool to create deeper awareness, empathy and truth-telling. It has also instilled in me a strong sense of purpose to be a mentor to others; to share lived experiences so that other girls and women can learn from each other and be prepared for the obstacles and have insights into successful strategies.”

“It’s critical as we move forward and are successful in breaking glass ceilings or in simply raising awareness, that women continue to turn around and grab the hands of other women to bring them along.” – Kristy Masella

Women supporting women

“Invite a young woman to shadow you. Be their mentor. Link them into your valuable networks. Create a platform for them to share their story.

“We want the diversity of women’s and girls’ experiences, and their voices shared and amplified. We want girls and women to be part of decisions that affect them. We need to be champions and allies of each other.

“Advocating for change and creating change is a hard slog. We need support around us to help us sustain the energy and endurance this change requires, including from those that have historically created or benefited from women’s and girls’ disempowerment. It’s a sad reality that women and girls remain disproportionately affected by violence – 10-fold for Aboriginal women and girls.

“Leading policy that actively combats racism and gendered violence will see more women and girls empowered to lead and drive change.”

Dr Indigo Willing

Indigo (Graduate Certificate in Research Methods (Social Science) ’05 and Doctor of Philosophy ’10) is a sociologist and skateboarder who dedicates her time to removing social barriers as a QLD State Library Hon. John Oxley Fellow, a NSW Churchill Fellow and at SSSHARC, University of Sydney.

Making people feel like they belong

“I am a war orphan, a sociologist and a skateboarder. I apply my lived experience to looking at diversity, inclusion and equity in a variety of ways. I want people to feel like they belong and can reach their potential, which was the opportunity afforded to me during the Vietnam War.

“My life began in an orphanage and that has always made me appreciate people welcoming others who are newcomers and who are different to them. It's at the heart of my work and it shapes everything I do as a sociologist.

“As a young person going to university, I would walk past the local skate park and see mostly men. As a woman I wanted to see more of us there. To go beyond a token presence.

“I started looking at the sociological dimensions of skate parks and at the social demographics of skate parks. Research revealed women really wanted to be involved. Outcomes included the emergence of award-winning collaborations with women and people of nontraditional genders. Queensland and Australia now have some of best women skaters in the world and more skateparks where everyone skates together.”

The power of ‘possibility models’

“There are 3 important things for supporting women leaders as we go forward. The first is being recognised for having a space and belonging – in whatever profession or pursuit you're interested in – and people affirming that no matter how marginalised you might be, you belong there.” – Dr Indigo Willing

“The second is having formal resources and support, like scholarships, fellowships and grants. This is particularly empowering for women and girls – it’s not just knowing you have the talent, but it's somebody helping you have the resources to get in there and stay in there.

“The last one is mentorship. Rather than calling them role models, skateboarder Kim Woozy refers to them as ‘possibility models’. They show us what's possible. I think that UQ alumni are a really great example of this. Their stories remind us that it can be done – that whatever we want to achieve, it's doable and there's others that have done that who we can get inspiration from.”

Julie McKay

Julie (Bachelor of Arts / Bachelor of Business Management ’04) is the Director of Full Harvest Advisory and previously held the roles of Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at PwC and Executive Director of UN Women Australia.

Every voice deserves to be heard

“One of my early mentors encouraged me to remember that you can learn something from every person, if you seek to understand them and their story. It is a lesson I have carried with me and meant that from the very early days working in the women’s sector, I have felt the weight of individual experiences of inequality and more broadly of structural inequality.

“The complex and intersectional nature of gender inequality is something that you can’t ‘un-see’ once you have seen it. I hope that I would be described as someone who has used every avenue available to me to advance gender equality and amplify the voices of those who have struggled to be heard – noting that influence and change come from many different places.

“What I have experienced and observed is that authentic leaders who meet people where they are and share responsibility and success and invest in their teams without expectation of anything in return, are the ones that develop loyal followership which ultimately translates into exceptional team performance.”

“Gender equality, for me, isn’t just about a future for the next generation of women leaders – it is about the next generation, period.” – Julie McKay

Keep fighting for progress

“Each year, at the UN Commission on the Status of Women, far from seeing the advancement of women’s rights as nation states come together to try to agree on priority areas for the advancement of gender equality, we are seeing an increasingly organised resistance to gender equality.

“The truth is that no country in the world has achieved gender equality – by which I mean women having equal access to leadership opportunities, independent economic security and a life free from violence. Efforts to rebalance historical inequality are being felt as ‘unfair’ or ‘anti-meritocratic’ rather than celebrated for what the future will hold for the next generation of people who are less trapped by gendered norms than their parents.

“The one thing I think we can all do, and need to do this IWD, is push back on the anti-diversity sentiment creeping in. Seek to understand different people’s attitudes, seek to dispel myths with data, seek to create a shared vision where every individual can see a future for themselves that is safe, secure and fulfilling, with gender equality at the centre of decision making.

“If we aren’t willing to have the dinner table conversations, the workplace conversations, the public conversations, then I think we are doing a disservice to the next generation, but also to all the people who have gone before and fought for progress.”

Professor Kerrie Wilson

Professor Wilson (Bachelor of Applied Science '99) is Queensland Chief Scientist , a Professor of Environmental Science at QUT, and member of the Australian Heritage Council.

Leading by example

“I’ve been privileged to work across academia, the not-for-profit sector, and now government. This journey has shown me the value of role models and supportive leaders, as well as the need for recognising and amplifying the incredible women working in science in Queensland.

“I’ve come to understand that being flexible, having empathy and always seeking to understand where people are coming from, not only delivers a productive and efficient work environment, it also leads to happier and sustainable teams.

“In my own experience, the biggest opportunities in my career have come from someone giving up something or moving aside to create space for me. As a leader, I aim to remain alert to those opportunities so I can pass them on to both female and male colleagues to mitigate gender biases.

“We know striving for gender equality is an enormously complicated issue, but I’d encourage people to consider their own unconscious bias. We all need to consider what we do and say – not just in the workforce but in our private lives, too. We all have an important role to play in contributing to a more inclusive future.” – Professor Kerrie Wilson

Open communication and representation matter

“I think women leaders can be supported in the same way we should support all employees. We should aim to create a safe space to allow open lines of communication to support the individual employee and be flexible as to what this may look like.

“Organisations can also look to create networks, engage a diverse panel of coaches and provide a variety of leadership role models so that everyone can see the diversity of ways that individuals can develop themselves and succeed with their aspirations.

“I think it’s important to normalise open communication and constructive feedback into everyday settings so that women’s voices are heard as a matter of course not merely by exception. This brings diverse perspectives to the table and can drive positive change quickly.”

Wing Commander Janine Tillott CSC

Wing Commander Tillott (Bachelor of Dental Science ’96) was awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross in the 2025 Australia Day Honours for her role as Air Force Command Gender Advisor between 2022 to 2024.

Embedding gender in military operations in the Royal Australian Air Force

“In its basic form, gender in military operations considers how men, women, boys, girls, elderly people, people with a disability and other minority groups influence the Australian Defence Force military operations and how our military operations affect each of these groups differently.

“It is recognised globally that conflict and natural disasters affect each of these groups differently, with a disproportionate adverse impact on women and girls.” – Wing Commander Janine Tillott

“Here are a few statistics:

During humanitarian disasters, incidents of sexual violence rise as much as 60%.
Women and girls are 14x more likely to die during a natural disaster than men.
Over the last decade, almost 90% of people killed in conflict were civilians, with 3 out of 4 being women and children.
Women’s participation increases the probability of a peace agreement lasting at least two years by 20% and 15 years by 35%.
Participation of civil society groups, including women’s organisations, makes peace agreements 64% less likely to fail.

“A gender perspective means considering the impacts, needs, priorities and influence of diverse groups, and acknowledging these may be different, to understand how our mission will affect the total population.

“By embedding gender considerations into our operations, activities and investments, we can improve our effectiveness and enhance personnel and civilian security and safety. Importantly, it can expedite the return to peace and stability.”