This year's International Women's Day theme, Accelerate Action, is a global call to challenge old systems and improve healthcare, education, safety and financial security for girls and women everywhere. Who wouldn't back that goal?
But in 2025 the simple and sensible pursuit of equality appears to have found a new threat.
America's unelected boss of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency), Elon Musk, has taken an axe to Diversity, Equality and Inclusion roles, slashing government jobs and threatening to revoke funding from schools and universities if they don't end all DEI programmes.
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It's true that efforts to achieve equality are viewed by some as a luxury during times of financial stress. If you run a company that's buckling under the strain of inflation, diversity is considered a "nice to have" not a "need to have".
This appears to be the view of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton who has already flagged DEI roles as those most likely to be cut from our public service if the Coalition wins the upcoming federal election.
https://omny.fm/shows/the-pay-off-with-sylvia-jeffreys/introducing-the-pay-off-with-sylvia-jeffreys/embed?style=coverCost cutting is one thing; budgets need to be met. But how much weight should be given to the theory that this is, in fact, a culture war; a push bank on what some would describe as "wokeness"? Especially when you consider that DEI roles make up a tiny, almost negligible portion of Australia's public service - it's hardly the low hanging fruit if you're looking to trim the fat.
And it's important to note that during these times of economic uncertainty those who are marginalised or disadvantaged need help more than ever. Homelessness is on the rise and the fastest growing group of Australians falling into homelessness are women over the age of 55.
For young Australian women the hurdles to financial independence are growing higher. Home ownership rates among young people are in decline, HECS debts have soared and wages aren't keeping up.
According to the Australia Institute, by 2024 the average dwelling in Australia cost 16.4 times that of household income per capita. No amount of avocado toast can offset that kind of growth.
And while home ownership shifts from being a dream to a fantasy, young families are trapped in a rental market that wasn't designed for long term tenants.
These harsh realities are the catalyst for my new podcast, The Pay Off, which explores the generational wealth divide and extracts knowledge and advice on how to get ahead from some of the sharpest minds in finance, business and politics.
When I sat down with Future Women founder, Helen McCabe to record an interview, she arrived with proof that we are not immune from American-style DEI cut backs. On the way into our studio she'd received a phone call from a client informing her that they were cancelling all of their activities around IWD.
"It is hard for organisations at the moment to find growth, to make money, to put it really brutally. So anywhere you can make savings, you're going to take it. And for some of those organisations, the DEI work has been challenging and frustrating. So any excuse to get rid of it, they'll take. So I'm not remotely surprised. But I am a bit disappointed".
Helen, who spent a big portion of her media career working for white men and alongside other blonde women, has a deep appreciation for diversity in the workplace, but fears the cost of living crisis has handed some organisations an excuse to regress like a four month old who has all of a sudden forgotten how to sleep.
"I see it as a bit of a temporary blip, motivated a lot by the cost of living and inflation, pressures on businesses at the moment. And that the idea that fairness and having a range of opinions and a range of people in your organisation is actually good for business will return. I think DEI just got a bad name for a whole bunch of reasons… it became evangelical in some organisations and for business leaders who are looking at having to cut heads versus investing in DEI strategies."
Meggie Palmer ditched her journalism career after settling into her side hustle, PepTalkHer, an app that helps women to record their professional goals and achieve better pay.
One of the triggers for her departure from media was the realisation that, while working in a newsroom, she was being paid less than men who were performing exactly the same duties (note to reader: this is unlawful). And so began her devotion to closing the gender pay gap.
"We took a bit of a step back during covid because we saw that more women disproportionately were the ones that stepped back from their jobs. And depending on where you are and what industry you're in, the pay gap sits somewhere between fifteen and twenty percent more or less. And then the biggest thing is in retirement. You can imagine in terms of Superannuation, if you're getting paid less now, not only does that suck, but in retirement, the compound interest impact of that is enormous."
As an Australian living in America, Meggie still manages to focus on the actions that give her reason to feel optimistic.
"There are things that we can control and I'm a big believer in ripple effects. And I think that if all of us can start a ripple, I think with time those ripples become tidal waves of change...
"You know, the person who told me that I was getting a different package to the men was a male ally, and when we talk about the gender pay gap, it is much worse for women of colour for indigenous women for Asian women for black women… And so I have a responsibility to be an ally for other people too."
Flexible work conditions, which have supported women to re-enter the workforce or increase their hours, could also be under threat depending on the result of the federal election; The Coalition pledging to send all public servants back to the office full time.
McCabe offers her mostly female team fully flexible work arrangements, but she acknowledges this is harder to achieve in other workplaces.
"If you've got a fully female team and you want the best women that you can get and the best staff that money can buy, then fully remote and fully flexible is critical and it works. The only time this seems to be an issue…is when that male influence sort of struggles with the idea that all of the staff are going to be at home. The combination of a gender equal team makes that decision making much harder."
On this International Women's Day, I'm choosing to focus on Meggie's "ripple effect" approach. As individuals, we are not powerless and there are small ways to make a difference every day.
Highlighting and supporting the critical work of organisations that are devoted to women's health, education and safety is a meaningful way to lift others up. A few that come to mind include:
- Share the Dignity - a women's charity in Australia, that works to make a real difference in the lives of those experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence, or doing it tough by distributing period products to anyone who needs support.
- The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Women's Alliance (NATSIWA) champions the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
- Girls Who Code is pushing back on the stereotypes in technology and opening doors for girls who want to enter into the space.
Investing in women can deliver benefits to all, and no matter the threats that continue to emerge, we all have a role to play in achieving the sensible goal of equality.
Sylvia Jeffreys' new podcast is called The Pay Off, the first two episodes with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton publish on March 13. Tap here and follow the podcast to get those episodes for free.
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