Dylan Alcott’s message to men on International Women’s Day
Dylan Alcott initially declined an offer to be on the panel at an International Women’s Day breakfast but he now has a powerful message for other men.
Confidential
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Australian of the Year Dylan Alcott has called on men to speak up, and listen more, to women.
Speaking at an International Women’s Day breakfast, the champion tennis player said he initially declined the offer to be on the panel at the event because he is a man.
“People have to listen more and actually listen to the loved experience but also understand what is going on,” Alcott told The Daily Telegraph.
“For so long people have put things aside. Us, as blokes, need to open our big ears and start taking action on what we hear and the time to do that is now.”
Also on the panel at the Marie Claire magazine IWD breakfast were Brittany Higgins, Christine Holgate, Lisa Wilkinson and Miranda Tapsell.
Higgins’ case of sexual assault at Parliament House Canberra sparked national debate and exposed a culture of cover ups in federal politics.
“It was actually quite emotional,” Higgins said. “After I had a bit of a cry. Just to see your own life experience through someone else’s eyes is always interesting.”
Higgins spoke of her own traumatic experiences that led to her becoming a role model to so many.
“It’s a strange thing to be known for the worst thing that ever happened to you,” she said. “This was never really a career plan but you take life as it comes to you and this is where I’m at in life and I’m very proud to be working with people like Grace (Tame) to try and drive things forward.”
Tame too was a guest at the event, held at Est in the Sydney CBD.
She preceded Alcott as Australian of the Year and has been criticised by some for using the honour as a political tool.
To that, Alcott said: “Those people are idiots. I was so proud of what Grace did, she was always authentically herself, that is hard to do, especially when you’ve been through trauma.
“I really hated myself growing up with my disability and having to talk about your disability every day is hard.
“I can’t imagine what Britt and Grace have been through and how hard it is for them. Grace has set me up for failure because I’ve now got to follow in her ridiculously large footsteps.”
Meanwhile, asked if she would consider entering politics herself, Higgins said: “I think I’m a bit stateless right now and I can probably get more done as an advocate from the outside with government at this point.”
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