International Women's Day

International Women's Day 2023 (IWD)has been celebrated for over 100 years, with the consistent message to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It is a collective day where everyone is welcome, with the sole aim of achieving gender parity. DHA’s Danielle Lawrence and Elizabeth Bryant looked into this a little further.
 
This year’s theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023  is Embrace Equity, but what is equity? We so frequently hear the phrase "equality in the workplace" which is important, but equity presents an entirely different concept - this recognises that each individual has different circumstances, and therefore allocates the resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.
 
Although we often seek "equal opportunities", this can lead to exclusion rather than inclusion. The reality is that *all* individuals play an important role in securing a gender-equal future and IWD raises the question to all, as to what we can do to support women to succeed. Simply put, change cannot happen without the support and involvement of all. Equality should be seen as the end goal and equity is how you get there.
 
As a professional sector, let’s ask ourselves if our female colleagues have the environment and tools to enable their success, and ensure the industry provides opportunities for female role models to inspire the younger generation to join what is considered a male-dominated industry.

The planning profession is motivated by the desire to create better communities – and we wholeheartedly believe this same approach must be applied to the industry as a whole!