Count Her In: International Women’s Day at Shine

March 18, 2024

In line with this year’s Count Her In theme, and Shine’s commitment to promoting diversity, Shine extended support by making a donation to UN Women Australia. We also sponsored a selection of team member’s attendance to the UN Women Australia 2024 events to inspire with the aim of enabling women in our team, local communities and worldwide to learn, earn and lead.

“We all have a responsibility to act on “Count Her In” consciously in our daily lives whether that be at work or in our local communities. “Consciously” means intentional personal actions, including challenging interactions and situations where this approach is not upheld. When we promote equal space for women to learn, earn and lead, we change their lives and provide freedom and empowerment to them, their families and whole communities. That is the kind of change I challenge you to support”. Faye Aylward, GM People and Culture

Here are the insights and stories from the day from some of our attendees:

Erika Bell – Program Manager
There were circa 2,000 people at the Sydney IWD event. I am still in awe of the scale of this event synchronised across Australia. The event featured speakers who were female experts and leaders across diverse industries including economics, politics, business, entertainment and sports. One such example was the Reserve Bank Commissioner who engaged in an open and candid conversation with Simone Clarke about driving systematic change to accelerate gender equality. Thanks for making the conversation casual, easy to understand and in doing so making it accessible.

My takeaway is to continue to make time for IWD and encourage my peers and broader network to do the same. Taking time to reflect and truly listen to these leader’s stories, enables us to better relate to others and inspire those around us to create more inclusive environments.

I am deeply grateful for the opportunity. Thanks for paying it forward Shine Solutions and counting me in – coincidently #Count_Her_In is the theme for this year.

Matt Fraser – Principal Consultant
On entering the event I noticed that I was one of very few people who identify as male. I felt slightly out of place and it was somewhat confronting, leading me to realise that I was indeed experiencing an insight of what many non-male engineers must experience on a regular basis, considering the gender diversity stats of the technology industry.

The event itself was full of great insights. I was reminded that providing a more inclusive workplace provides better outcomes for everyone, and particularly women and the communities that surround them, notwithstanding the fact that research tells us that greater diversity leads to better business outcomes too.

It was extremely inspiring to hear how Mellody Hobson overcame the challenges of gender and racial stereotypes and socioeconomic status to reach her goals – currently #94 on the list of the World’s most influential Women, co-CEO of Ariel Investments, Chairwoman of Starbucks and former Chairwoman of DreamWorks Animation. It was a story of true resilience and it made me consider the intersectionality of these issues and how to positively impact the diversity challenges we face in the modern world.

My takeaway is to be conscious of dynamics. No one in that room wanted to exclude me, and in fact I was welcomed. This imparted on me the importance of challenging unconscious bias in everyday situations and raised my awareness of the empathy required to make a meaningful difference. The more educated we all are, the better it will be.

Farzi Zarei – Senior Engineer
The IWD event was an inspiring and empowering event. I was impressed by the diversity and breadth of experiences shared by women from various backgrounds and cultures. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect and gain valuable insights into the challenges and triumphs faced by women around the world.

The stories and achievements of the women speakers left a lasting impression on me. Their resilience, determination, and passion for driving positive change inspired me to pursue my own goals. The conference reinforced the idea that every challenge presents an opportunity for growth and learning.

Loki Martin – Senior Engineer
It was my first time attending a UN IWD event. I found the panel discussion with Nicola Roxon, Rachel Yang and Cathy Scalso very impactful. They deliberated on the importance of economic and financial literacy, emphasising its pivotal role in empowering women to realise their full potential as investors, savers, and contributors to economic growth.

Bridging the gender gap in economic literacy is not only a moral obligation but also an economic necessity which can accelerate progress in gender equity. We need everyone’s help and support to achieve this, and I think the event would be more impactful if there were more male identifying folk among the participants.

Sushma Puppala (Senior Engineer)
This year’s IWD theme of ‘Count Her In: Invest in Women – Accelerate Progress’ resonated with me as the speakers presented statistics about how many women around the world are not empowered economically. Growing up in India, money was a topic for men – I felt privileged about my circumstances now, and am more aware of how many women around the world are at a disadvantage.

Joy Quiwa – Analyst Software Engineer
The Sydney IWD event was inspiring and encouraging.

Inspiring thanks to so many women who have come before me. Those who fought in places like the IT industry, so I can have a place in it and thrive. Those who fought so I could choose to be a stay-at-home mom when my children were little. Those who fought so I could choose who I marry and when I marry. Those who fought so I could have a university degree like my brother.

Encouraging, thanks to so many women who continue to aspire for more equality. Those who are fighting for women and girls who have no choice of their future; no voice and no means to get out of poverty. Those who use International Women’s Day as a reminder that even a small change, like teaching our daughters to be money-smart or affording them the opportunities of our sons, can have a lasting impact on future generations.

My reflection is that “equality” does not mean being the same with men. Equality allows for complimentary attributes and individuality. There are still so many places in our world where there is inequality between women and men. I will keep aspiring for small changes, paving a more equal future for my young daughter’s generation.

Mark Johnson, Shine CEO, added “Our commitment at Shine remains to continually evolve our inclusive environment and culture to promote equity and equality for women and all categories of our diversity programs. We do this by celebrating and acknowledging important days and continually monitoring and improving internal processes to support this focus. We commit to this every day for all our people internally and we trust that our people will carry these principles into their communities.”