International Women’s Day: This isn’t the world I want my daughter to inherit

Here we go again—another International Women’s Day. Cue the hashtags, the corporate cupcakes, and the special morning teas. But as lovely as all that is (and yes, I will absolutely be having a cupcake, thank you very much), IWD 2025 is asking us to go deeper. This year’s theme from UN Women is For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment. It’s a rallying cry for women everywhere, and the urgency is very real.

Because, let’s face it, misogyny is not on the way out.

It’s been rebranded, repackaged, and mainstreamed into our politics, media, workplaces, and social feeds. Just take a look around. It’s no longer hiding in the shadows. Misogyny is front and centre, amplified by algorithms and echoed by some surprising people.

As Women’s Agenda recently pointed out, IWD can’t just be another date on the calendar. Not when women are being dragged backward. Not when hard-won rights are being questioned, undermined, or outright attacked. Not when our daughters are growing up in a world where sexism is dressed up as “just a joke” and equality is somehow up for debate.

As someone who grew up with a fair bit of privilege in a Western country—safe, free, educated—I’m well aware that I’m one of the lucky ones.

But I’m also a gay woman who’s spent years fighting for LGBTQIA+ rights, so I know what it feels like to be othered. To have your legitimacy up for debate. To be politely (or not so politely) reminded that you’re not quite what the world expected.

And here’s the thing: the fight for women’s rights is inseparable from the fight for the rights of all marginalised communities. None of us win unless we all do. Whether it’s women, queer folk, people of colour, refugees, or anyone else the system tends to shove to the sidelines. We’re stronger when we lift together.

The barriers are still very real

Reading through the incredible reflections on Kochie’s Business Builders from women across different industries for this IWD, one thing is clear: the work is nowhere near done. Jane Ng points out that if we keep progressing at our current pace, we won’t see gender parity in cyber security until 2158. Sorry, what? That’s not just a problem for my daughter. That’s a problem for my daughter’s great-great-great-granddaughter. And frankly, that’s not good enough.

And it’s not just tech. Noor Al-Laihaibi shares her story of arriving in Australia as a 14-year-old refugee and being told she couldn’t go to uni. Think about that. You’ve already overcome unimaginable odds just to be in the classroom, and the system still slams the door in your face. Luckily, Noor found a way through, and now she’s using her law degree to make sure other women from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t get shut out. “Visibility without action is performative,” she reminds us. Preach.

And then there’s Grace Young. Grace is a transgender woman who says attending an IWD event early in her transition was the first time she truly felt she “fit” among her industry peers. “It was an experience that illuminated the power of IWD,” she says. “A day where ALL women, including intersectional women that have historically been underrepresented, are acknowledged and heard.” Grace has seen workplace bias from both sides of the gender divide, and the contrast couldn’t be clearer. As she puts it, “Where I was once accepted and respected as part of the ‘default’ in the industry, I suddenly found myself being treated differently, despite my 25+ years of experience.”

I mean, how many times do we need to say it? Bias isn’t just bad for people—it’s bad for business. As Grace points out, diverse teams make better decisions, build better products, and lead better organisations. DEI isn’t some feel-good add-on; it’s how you build something that actually works.

Lastly, there’s Brenda Kaplan from Jewish House, who’s on the frontlines helping women rebuild their lives after domestic violence and homelessness. There’s no sugar-coating from Brenda.. The gender pay gap, financial insecurity, ageism, and abuse are pushing older women into homelessness at alarming rates. “Supporting and empowering women can alleviate the rising numbers of women seeking assistance,” she says. And she’s absolutely right, it’s all connected.

So, what kind of world am I fighting for?

It’s simple, really. I want my 10-year-old daughter to grow up in a world where women are the norm in boardrooms, labs, and cyber security teams. Where refugees are welcomed with open arms (and scholarships). Where trans women like Grace are respected for their expertise without question. Where the default isn’t male, straight, white, and rich. And where the only glass ceiling she has to worry about is a skylight.

I want her to know that standing up for herself and others is just what we do. That we don’t sit quietly and wait for permission. That we don’t apologise for taking up space. That we don’t stop at awareness—we push for actual change.

Going beyond the hashtags

Lauren Eickhorst, who’s leading a tech company, put it best: “Stop wasting time thinking about how to break the mould. Don’t let the pressure to be something you’re not stop you from succeeding.” Honestly, it’s great advice.

International Women’s Day can’t just be a photo op. It can’t just be a LinkedIn post and some purple cupcakes. It’s got to be a turning point. It’s a daily commitment to dismantling the barriers that keep women—and all marginalised people—out of the rooms where decisions are made.

So yes, on March 8^th, I’ll raise a glass (and probably a scupcake). But then, on March 9th, I’ll keep pushing. For Noor. For Jane. For Grace. For Brenda. For my daughter. For your daughter. For all women and girls. Because rights, equality, and empowerment aren’t just slogans. They’re the foundation of the future we’re building every single day.

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