Zonta – Young Women In Leadership

College Co-Captain Olivia was a finalist in Zonta Young Women in Leadership Awards. The topic was “an initiative where you have demonstrated strong leadership and the impact you feel you made”. Here is a copy of her powerful speech.

I had just joined ‘Share The Dignity’ as a volunteer, collecting period products for our August Dignity Drive. I decided to manage the Woolworths Ashfield collection point. In truth, I didn’t expect much from Ashfield but as I stood in front of Woolworths Ashfield, collecting donations from an overflowing collection point, and wondering how I’m going to explain this to my dad waiting in the carpark, an older woman approached me carrying even more donations. I thanked her and she paused, just briefly, and when she looked at me, she said “It’s okay love, I know what it’s like”. 

In that moment, I didn’t know what to say to her. Here was a woman who knew what it was like to go without and had still chosen to give. That was the moment I truly understood what dignity meant.

A period is not a choice. It is not something that can be postponed until payday. Yet for many Australians, dignity still comes with a price tag and often, people have to endure in silence. 

Because menstruation is embarrassing. We whisper the word ‘period’ and hide products up our sleeves, teaching young people that menstruation is shameful. Something that must be hidden. 

This is not a ‘women’s issue’. This is about dignity. About health. 

I know we’ve been asked to stand here and talk about our own leadership qualities but if you want an example of leadership, look to your own communities. Look at the individuals who notice a problem and quietly decide to do something about it. Look at the people who give their time and money simply because they know someone else needs it. 

By taking responsibility for the collection point, I learnt that leadership isn’t about standing at the front but it’s about being willing to stand up for what matters. More often than not, the greatest impact you can make is giving someone else the dignity of knowing that they are not alone because ultimately, history will not judge us by the speeches we deliver in this room but by the lives we improve beyond it. 

As I walked away from Woolies Ashfield that day, pushing a shopping trolley filled to the brim with pads, tampons and period underwear, I remembered that woman. I often think of what she had to do to get by. The shame she must have carried. She reminded me that hardship isn’t a distant issue, it’s happening right now in our own communities, to people we don’t give a second thought to. She also taught me that we don’t have to simply witness it. We can respond to it.

I went to Woolies thinking that I was there to make a difference but her leadership made the real difference in me. Standing there, meeting that woman, I realised that leadership is about caring enough to act because leadership begins when we stop waiting for someone else to act, and decide that we will. It’s about recognising where your community needs you and having the courage to respond. So as you think about the needs in your own community, I leave you with one question:

What are you going to do about it?