From the Principal

Last week we happily celebrated International Women’s Day (IWD). It is a global day of recognition, celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements and positive impacts of women. IWD has been recognised on the global calendar for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Last week, as a community of young informed women, we celebrated IWD through our House gatherings.

 

The theme for IWD 2024 was “Inspire Inclusion” – #InspireInclusion.

 

This theme “inspire inclusion” serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of working together to empower women to live their best selves every day. Here at MSCW, it is essential that our girls are empowered to use their voice, whether in person or online, to build women and girls up, always looking to make positive comments and recognising the good in others. Ultimately, addressing inclusion is essential for creating a society where everyone has equal opportunity to optimize their maximum potential. For some women, that will be in positions of leadership.

 

In Australia at present, only 22 per cent of CEO positions and 34 per cent of board positions in ASX companies are occupied by women. The recent study by the Workplace Gender Equality Agency shows that only 25 per cent of boards have achieved gender equity balance, however more alarming is that 26 per cent have no female representatives at all! So as we reflect on International Women’s Day in 2024, it is helpful to recognise that the pursuit of womens’ equality extends beyond equal opportunities. It also includes the concept of equity. Achieving equity requires a much deeper commitment to removing systemic barriers, as well as lifting those who have the necessary talent, but have had less access to the playing field.

 

In his recent homily, my Parish Priest unpacked the Gospel reading by choosing a modern-day interpretation of the 10 Commandments. The commandment “You shall not bear false witness” seemed to be particularly relevant to this IWD theme. He proposed that the commandment could even be re-written today as “honour others….their frailties may be your own”. This reminds us that we are all human, bearing faults and frailties, however it urges us to adopt the position of always seeing the good in others. In other words… “blowing out someone else’s candle doesn’t make yours shine any brighter”. We should be lighting up each other’s candles. This means approaching life with empathy, positivity and compassion and just as the IWD theme promotes, being inclusive.

 

These values of empathy, compassion and inclusion can be found in our Marist Compass dimension of Empower. For our Marist girls to live this out, we aim to develop and build their confidence, we want them to not fear that they will be ridiculed or bullied should they make a mistake or when things don’t go to plan. One psychologist stated that there are only two types of people in the world: The first are those too fearful to take a risk; The second those who take a risk and attempt to live life on their own terms. The difference between these two kinds of people is fear. We want our Marist girls not to be afraid to go out and pursue their dreams. Anything is possible. We want them to feel safe and supported as they develop life skills to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, act for justice and fairness as well as create environments where all women and girls are valued and respected. As teachers, support staff, parents and carers, we can support them by always modelling empathy, compassion and inclusion. By always valuing the contribution of women, we show our girls that their contribution will be valued and accepted.

 

This powerful message teaches our girls the importance of being Marist Woman of Action, assured and compassionate, celebrating achievements, calling out discrimination against women and embracing every opportunity available at MSCW to build a robust skillset to take them into the future.

 

Strike the #InspireInclusion pose to show solidarity.