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The theme of the International Women’s Day 2022 is “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow”.

According to the UN Women, the theme is about “recognising the contribution of women and girls all over the world who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response to build a more sustainable future for all”. 

Although much progress has been made in establishing gender equality over the years, there are still obstacles to overcome and it has been noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has even slowed the progress toward gender equality.

International Women’s Day (IWD2022) with the ‘Ringing of the Bell’ for Gender Equality along with the Sydney Stock Exchange, UN Nations (UN Women’s Organisation), and Braintree with a theme this year of ‘Changing climates: Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow’.  

Although pouring rain in Sydney, it was fantastic to kick off early celebrations for International Women’s Day 2022 with such a dynamic panel at the The Sydney Stock Exchange this morning! We unpacked the barriers to gender equality and how we can all play a role to empower women globally. Highlights from the panel discussion included Simone Clarke, CEO of UN Women Australia talking about 4 key themes of financial empowerment, real action on domestic violence, greater engagement of women in government and planning to address the disproportionate impact on women in the aftermath of natural disasters.

EY Fellow for Trust & Ethics, Clare Payne and Start-up Entrepreneur and VC Partner Noga Edelstein outlined stable access to capital, education about financial management and a greater focus on encouraging women into STEM studies to increase the number of female tech founders as key to addressing the structural reforms required to address the imbalance of capital allocation and Michael Go, CEO from SSX highlighted that promoting gender equality in organisations supports innovation, improves risk mitigation and reduces groupthink on boards and executive committees.

Moderated by Cindy Nicholson GAICD ACC CEO from Braintree Pty Limited who emphasised their commitment to standing firmly behind women in business and work with them to navigate the complexities of gender equality and enabling them to realise their true potential.