‘When women stick together we can achieve remarkable things’
On International Women’s Day, TV personality Catriona Rowntree joins other prominent Australians to tell of the forces that shaped them, who gives them strength and what needs to change for all women in 2025.
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Some of Australia’s best-known women write to someone they care about – mother, friend, children, other women – to express their thoughts on being a woman, today, their challenges and their hopes for the future.
Catriona Rowntree
TV presenter, lover of wool and farmer’s wife
Dear women of Australia,
Have you got a moment? I know you’re busy and that life in 2025 can be nuts.
So in the spirit of sharing a few things that have helped me cope with the last few years of balancing a job I love with a family, being in a happy marriage (let alone staying married) and maintaining my sanity…
I’m going to throw a few one-liners at the Wall of Wisdom and see if any of them stick for you.
1. Your health is your wealth. No one gives a hoot what your dress size is, or what car you’re driving if you don’t have the good health to enjoy it. Money can’t protect you from illness, so try all you can to avoid stress, prioritise sleep and when confronted with something that doesn’t enhance your wellbeing … count to five and move on.
2. Be financially independent. This one comes from my Nan, my best friend and greatest cheerleader. Nan knew the importance of having your own bank account, the quiet confidence achieved when you’re in charge of your own money and in turn destiny.
3. Retreat to victory. There can be real power in not responding immediately, stepping back from confrontation, or what I like to say “marinating” over a decision.
4. What is the one job you’d do for free? This is a good question to start with if you’re not sure about what you’d like to do in life. Try to follow your passion and trust that your instincts are right.
5. Choose kindness. Being compassionate is such a superpower, it softens your judgments, enhances your decision-making and generally makes you a magnet for magic.
I hope this helps, please know that you’re adored and when women stick together we can achieve remarkable things. Now, go forth and conquer.
Turia Pitt
What does it mean to be a woman today? Well – there’s a bit to it. You need to make sure you’re prioritising your partner, kids and family – oh, and your partner’s family while you’re at it. You must remember birthdays (only a bad woman would forget birthdays) and remember that the dishwasher guy is coming today, that your boss wants those reports, that your cat needs de-fleaing, that your child needs their hat for school. You must always put others first. Duh. Oh, but you also must always make an effort. Be smiley. No resting bitch face please. But also have good makeup and hair. And your physique. There’s that homesteader in America who has eight kids and just competed at Mrs America. So, what’s your excuse?
I have genuinely tried to do all of that. It ended in me being exhausted, stressed and resentful. I have a wonderful life but the pressure to do it all and be it all got to me in the end. So I tried a different approach. I tried to look after myself first. I started by making time to do the things I enjoyed, like going for a run. I started saying yes to trying new things, like surf skating. When I started to look after myself first I could finally breathe.
If you can’t give yourself permission to put your own metaphorical oxygen mask on first then tell yourself that it will make you a better parent, partner, friend, boss and colleague.
If you’re not exactly sure what it is that you enjoy – can I gently suggest running as a hobby? I teach normal, everyday women how to run. It’s a process we undertake together over nine weeks. I’ve seen how empowering it is to learn a new skill, and how empowering it is to realise that you are capable of doing hard things. If it sounds like something you’d like to try, check it out here: turiapitt.com/run.
Big love, aroha nui, and happy International Women’s Day.
Christie Whelan Brown
Dear my younger self,
The year is 2025. You are now 42. I know, right? Ancient. How did this happen? One minute you’re YOU, young and full of collagen. Next, you’re in early menopause and the collagen supply appears to be dwindling. Fast. You know what is wild though? You become an actress. I tell you that in the hopes it will quash about 10 years of worrying if this thing would eventually work out. It does! Try to worry less and enjoy the ride. Easier said than done.
Yes, your heart will get broken along the way. Just know: You will find true love. The absolute best love. Couldn’t ask for more.
Major warning here: you are NOT supposed to live in agony with your periods. It’s not normal. When you first go for a surgery to find out what’s wrong, they don’t remove the endometriosis they find. And you think, oh that’s OK – I’ll just go on hardcore birth control and try and ignore it for 10 years. This is going to be a big mistake. It will lead to needing major surgery in the future and also dealing with infertility. I can hear you already: “I don’t even know if I want to be a mother”, well, the day they tell you it might not be a possibility for you, you learn that you really DO want to be a mother. And you fight like a lion to make it happen. I’m not going to tell you if it works out or not; because I think you needed the fear to fight as hard as you did. Just don’t give up.
I know you feel like you’re ugly. Today I don’t feel ugly and the things that are beautiful about me have nothing to do with the way I look. Women are the best. Your relationships with women will sustain you throughout your life. Women aren’t your competitors. They’re your allies. Join the sisterhood and be a wonderful member. It will make for a better life.
Love, Christie
Edwina Bartholomew
Dear Tom,
You have just turned three. You love trucks and Lego and mud. You also love dolls and prams and wearing your sister’s tutus.
You are determined that you are not a “baby” anymore but you are yet to really see yourself as a boy’s boy, a lad, a man. There is not yet an “us” and a “them” when it comes to gender. Only a little brother who adores his big sister. Long may it last.
You don’t know it yet but having a sister is a superpower, Tommy. Each time you play with dolls, you’re learning how to care for others. When you fight with each other, you are not using force but learning how to communicate with your words.
She’s teaching you to be a great dancer and singer too. I’m sure those Taylor Swift lyrics will come in handy one day.
This is not just a hunch; studies have looked at it too. A sister can help you become a kinder, more giving person, it can teach you conflict-resolution, empathy and how to nurture others.
Apparently, brothers who grew up with sisters are better at communicating with women. My brother is lucky to have two sisters. I’m sure we were a pain sometimes as kids but we are better women for having him as our big brother and he is a better man too. He is compassionate, empathetic, a brilliant dad, a strong leader, a great listener and gives excellent healing hugs.
Tommy, learning to understand issues from someone else’s perspective is a powerful thing. Even though there is no misogyny in our house, you’ll find it out in the world. I hope you always stand up to it.
I hope you always have your sister’s back. I know she will have yours.
I hope you surround yourself with strong women and, when the time is right, find a partner to love as deeply as we love you.
Your Mum
Sharyn Ghidella
To young girls everywhere, what a privilege you’ve been dealt.
By the miracle of birth you received two X chromosomes in the delivery room, and one day you will grow up to become a woman.
Now, being a woman is not without its challenges. You probably already know that. But overall, being a woman is an honour and a gift. You are a bona fide member of the sisterhood and through your strengths, your leadership and your abilities, you are primed to show the world what you are made of.
Your resilience, your courage and your determination are just waiting to be harnessed. You are a woman. You are invincible. You can take on the world and change it, for the better. And if you need any inspiration, well, turn the page of any good history book to see a plethora of contributions women have made. The modern life raft, the first solar-heated home, the first CCTV home security system, Kevlar – that stronger-than-steel fibre, the fire escape, windshield wipers and the dishwasher can all be traced back to a woman and her ingenuity. Mathematician Ada Lovelace wrote the first algorithm for a machine in the 1800s. That makes her the world’s first computer programmer. Then there are the medical pioneers like Marie Curie. Her research on radioactivity revolutionised cancer treatment and nuclear energy. Medical researcher Dr Ann Tsukamoto helped isolate human stem cells.
Women have made their mark and, as young girls, you are now on the cusp of potentially doing the same. Trailblazing women before you have paved a better path. Your gender is no longer considered a barrier. Talent knows no gender.
The future is in your hands and those couple of X chromosomes you were lucky to receive at birth. Regards, Sharyn
Chyka Keebaugh
I’m so incredibly proud of the woman that you have become…
The last 30 years have been a journey, and I always say that you have been my greatest lesson. You have taught me so much about things I didn’t know or understand, and I love that I am still learning from your life’s outlook.
I wish I could have been more like you at your age. In many ways my generation created a stereotype of women. Your ability to face anything head on, dismiss boundaries with incredible confidence and determination is inspiring. I hope that I have given you the tools to be the woman you are today by allowing you to explore the many layers and facets that make you who you are, whilst still allowing your feminine energy to shine.
I couldn’t have imagined that it would be possible when I was your age to be the boss girl you are today and I love how this has become now more of the norm. The number of young women who talk to me about you is incredible and shows what an amazing mark you are making for yourself.
This week is international women’s week and it is a week that I embrace wholeheartedly. I love the fact that we are able to stand up proudly and own who we are without apologising for anything that people don’t like or understand. You have been such an incredible example of this and it excites me to see what your future holds.
We are living in a time that isn’t so easy politically and economically, but we need to embrace and support each other and show up for all the women in our lives. For me, kindness, true listening and being genuinely engaged with those around you will always be the strongest tools.
All my love, Your Mum xx
Ellie Cole
Paralympic swimmer
Dear Mum,
How do I put into words the weight of the strength that you have had to carry? How do I thank you for that?
When I was two, I can’t imagine the pain you felt when you were told about my cancer and when you kissed my forehead the night before they took my leg.
And then, where there could have been limitations, you gave me belief. You never let me see a disability as an ending, only as a different way to move forward. You taught me that my body, no matter how it looked, was powerful. That I could still run, swim, be silly and live fully without apology. You made sure I knew that nothing was beyond my reach, even when the world around me wasn’t built for someone like me. You carried so much so that I wouldn’t have to. Because of you, I grew up never questioning whether I belonged. You fought battles I never even saw and made sacrifices I never understood until I was older.
You never let me believe I was less. You showed me that being a woman means being unbreakable. That strength is in every woman who has ever had to fight to be seen.
But we still have work to do. I want to live in a world where women don’t have to prove their worth. Where strength isn’t measured by how much pain we can carry but by how freely we can be ourselves and where a woman never has to face barriers.
You taught me that being a woman means being unstoppable. I hope that one day the next generation won’t have to fight so hard to be seen, heard and valued for exactly who they are.
This is my big thanks to you, Mum.
Emma Watkins
Entertainer
Dear Mum and my sister Hayley,
It’s been many years of driving me to dance classes, watching concerts, taking me to competitions and trying to get my curly hair into a ballet bun.
Mum, when you gave Hayley a trophy you bought and engraved yourself that said Best Sister Award for having to attend my countless performances – I knew then that we were a team.
Today, this pact we have continues and, Mum, you still find the most colourful cotton to sew a sparkly, felt butterfly on to a hair clip. And I never want this to change.
Being a woman, being a part of our three-piece Spice Girls band means we are there for each other, we always are, and we want to be. There’s never a moment when Mum can’t find an excuse to meet me for a coffee on my way driving past just to wave hello, tell me about the neighbours from 15 years ago and really … just to say she’s proud of me.
What needs to change is our silly schedules that make us “too busy” to see each other. To see anyone.
But in 2025, women are kicking goals, they are busy, they are creating opportunities, they are looking after their families – and in my case, looking after the pet goats. So, take a moment to cheer for each other, like Mum does every time she meets me with a Vegemite croissant, a snap lock bag full of new butterflies and snacks for the dogs.
I’d like to take this moment to celebrate all the little ones in the audiences that come to our shows. We appreciate your preschooler schedule is busy too – do not stop dancing, singing, signing, munching on crackers and carrots. Know that your Spice Girls are already watching you, supporting you and dedicating their life to you.
Love, Emma
Shayna Jack
Olympic swimmer
Dear Mum,
You are my inspiration. You are the embodiment of strength, resilience, and the profound power of motherhood. I realise that everything I am today has been shaped by you. Your strength is a quiet, unyielding force that pushes me to face challenges head-on, to rise above adversity, and to stand unwavering in my beliefs. You have shown me that true strength isn’t about avoiding hardships; it’s about embracing them, overcoming them, and emerging stronger. Growing up, I witnessed you juggle countless responsibilities with grace, always putting others first. You gave everything, often without recognition, showing me what selflessness truly means.
Your sacrifices are the foundation upon which my life is built. You taught me that motherhood is a superpower. Through you, I learned that the power of women lies in their ability to uplift others, to create life, and to leave an indelible mark on the world.
It’s easy to take for granted the sacrifices you’ve made, the late nights, the endless support, and the quiet strength you provide. I’ve come to realise just how much you have done, and continue to do, to shape me into who I am. International Women’s Day serves as a reminder to truly honour you and all the mothers, daughters, sisters, and women who work tirelessly, often without recognition, to create a better world for those around them.
You represent everything I aspire to be: strong, resilient, selfless, and unapologetically powerful. You have shown me that real strength isn’t about being invincible; it’s about rising every time you fall, about giving everything for the ones you love, and about finding power in vulnerability.
On International Women’s Day, I celebrate you, Mum, not just as my mother, but as a woman whose enduring strength, love, and sacrifices continue to inspire me. I will forever honour the incredible power you have passed on to me. Love, Shayna
Sam Frost
TV personality
There are no words to adequately describe how grateful I am for my beautiful big sister Kristine.
I truly wouldn’t be half the person I am today without her unwavering love, support and guidance. When I try to think of a word to describe her, “magical” comes to mind.
My sister spent her childhood helping raise and take care of me and our little brothers. She selflessly put aside her own wants and needs to ensure we were safe, clean, fed and loved.
I remember one time we were walking home from school and I wet my pants – I was far too old to be having accidents, but in my defence we had to walk an hour and half to get home – and without hesitation my sister took off her school jumper and tied it around my waist. We spent the rest of the walk dodging people from school so I wouldn’t get teased or feel embarrassed.
My sister was beautiful (she still is) and I was the awkward little sister that hid in her shadow.
Family and friends gave her a lot of attention for her beauty and talents. Whenever someone would shine a light on her, she would effortlessly redirect the light on to me and proudly tell anyone who would listen something great I was doing at school or share an interesting story about me. She made me feel really special when it felt like no one else could see me.
Her superpower still is making everyone around her feel seen. Now, she is a qualified youth mentor who facilitates programs for young girls to build their confidence and self-esteem, and a primary school teacher’s aide.
Kristine is my inspiration, my best friend and I will spend the rest of my days feeling grateful to have her by my side. Kris, thank you for making the world a better place for me and anyone who has the privilege to know you. Keep shining your light bright. I love you so much.
Sharri Markson
Journalist and Sky News host
To my dear great-grandmother Lily,
The world you were born into and the one I now inhabit are strikingly different – yet eerily similar in the prejudices that persist.
I almost met you. In fact, you believed we had met. As you eagerly awaited the birth of your first great-grandchild – me – you slipped into a coma, suffering from cancer.
When you awoke, you were convinced I had been born and crossly demanded my mum bring you her new baby. Gently, placing your hand on her tummy, she told you: “Granny, the baby hasn’t been born yet.” But you wouldn’t hear it. You insisted that you had seen me; the baby was a girl with big, beautiful brown eyes.
You passed away on the very day I was meant to be born. Two weeks later I arrived, on what would have been your 60th wedding anniversary: March 8th, 1984. International Women’s Day.
I’ve always been strong, feisty and determined.
My husband jokes that my motto is, “Don’t pick your battles – fight them all.”
But now, with anti-Semitism re-emerging with a vengeance, I wonder if strength and resilience are inherited, woven into our DNA, a way to protect our family from ever-present dangers.
Because the same hatred you faced as a young child – the prejudice you escaped – has resurfaced again, in the most unexpected of places: Australia.
You were born in Lithuania, in a tiny shtetl (town) called Krakes, in 1900. The Jewish community numbered just 450. Wednesday was market day, when farmers came to trade. Jews were only allowed to buy produce once the non-Jewish population had finished shopping, by which time the fresh fish and meat were gone. It’s said that’s why so many Jewish traditional recipes have pickled herring in them.
Anti-Semitism and unrest in Krakes was relentless. There were pogroms and the town suffered sudden attacks by the Russian Cossacks, who murdered Jews, raped women, and burned homes.
In 1884, 40 Jewish homes in Krakes were burned, leaving families homeless. Only eight remained untouched. The harassment continued for many years. It was no longer safe.
Your father, Yankel, left for South Africa while your mother was still pregnant with you. He spent 10 years selling ginger beer in the mines before he had saved enough money to bring you, your four siblings and your mother across by ship from Lithuania to South Africa.
And so, you didn’t meet your father until you were 10.
Then, in 1915, long after you had left, the town suffered the Lithuanian expulsion, where Jews were forcibly removed from their homes and sent into exile.
Now, I sit with the sound of my own children as they play, and yet there is a heaviness in my heart, an uneasiness about the world around us. Though we are only in the early months of 2025, it feels as though we have lived years within these fleeting weeks. Life in Australia carries a fresh anxiety: a preschool firebombed, homes and cars vandalised, a caravan packed with explosives uncovered – two Jewish targets inside. Death threats. Jewish leaders under siege.
As a mother and a journalist, I find strength in our shared history to fight for a safer future.
You, my great-grandmother, were a true pioneer in many ways. You worked when it wasn’t the norm for women to do so, making wedding dresses. My grandmother, Shirley, now 91, had a strong work ethic, too, manning the counters in the family store, eventually leaving the country of her birth for Australia. My mother, Ro, with her unlimited love for her children and grandchildren, her self-sacrifice and her abundance of time, care and selfless devotion to all around her.
Generations of women, shaped by adversity, have left an indelible mark on me. Now I find myself fighting back against the same hatred you, Lily, once faced – not only to remember but to protect. To safeguard the future, to ensure that our nation remains a safe home for Jewish Australians. An ancient hatred must not be allowed to take root here. Not in 2025. Not ever.
Love Sharri
Georgina Long
Melanoma Institute of Australia co-director
Dear Mum (Dr Ann Long), (and daughters) Liv, Lucia and Ella,
Together, we are three generations of Australian women. Three generations of strength, of curiosity, of boldness, and of the unshakeable belief that we can and must make a difference. Mum, you set the foundation for all of this. And Liv, Lucia and Ella, you are the future. I write this letter to celebrate us – who we are, what we stand for, what we fight for, and what we will never stop striving to change.
Mum, thank you. Thank you for being forward-thinking, for teaching me to think critically, to question, to never blindly accept the world as it is, but to always ask: Could it be better? You and Dad raised six of us with an open house, an open mind, and the fierce belief that “nothing is too hard”. You shaped my understanding of how science and public policy can save countless lives, about the power of small messages that create big change. That lesson stayed with me, shaped me, defined me.
To my daughters, I hope you carry this forward. Keep challenging me. Keep challenging the status quo. Never stop asking: Does it have to be this way? Seek freedom, seek truth, and listen to your grandmothers and the wise older women around you. Your grandmother is a woman who knew how to push boundaries. Her deep appreciation for nature and the environment wasn’t just admiration; it was action. She knew that the world we leave is shaped by the choices we make. Consider your potential. Think big and create meaningful impact.
I want a world without melanoma, where sun safety isn’t an afterthought, where health messages are clear, consistent, and powerful enough to save lives. I want a world where women are recognised for their contributions without having to constantly prove their worth. A world where our ideas are acknowledged and credited, where expectations are fair, and where talent and effort – regardless of gender – are valued and rewarded equally.
I want you to inherit a world where protecting our planet isn’t a debate but a responsibility we all share. And yet, despite all this, I am proud to be a woman. Because despite these battles, we persist.
We fight. We make change. And we will never stop. In this world of social media, of misinformation, of untruths – resist influence. Approach information with curiosity and scepticism. This is a world brimming with unprecedented opportunities for women who dare to think big and challenge the status quo. Embrace the journey of growth through trial and error. Live well. Love fiercely. Be bold. Know your ideas can change the world. Because they can. And they will.
Jacinta Nampijinpa Price
Senator
As women in 2025 Australia, we have so much to be grateful for.
We enjoy an equality that demands we receive an education; that inspires us to dream far and wide and allows us to decide where our feet will wander.
This freedom we have is precious,
and it will never do us harm to remember and be grateful for it. Because despite how normal we may think these things are – they’re not.
If we broaden our gaze, we see that this freedom is not a given for many women. In particular, having recently shared my own journey, I believe we must speak more openly about the way in which domestic violence can destroy those opportunities in one fell swoop. We know that unfortunately Indigenous women suffer some of the highest rates of domestic and family violence in this country. That means many Indigenous women face a major barrier to experiencing empowerment and freedom of choice.
The blatant irony is that despite the female empowerment movement which has given Australian women so much opportunity, there remains a deafening silence when it comes to the liberation of Indigenous women.
We must call out the unacceptable nature of violence, even when that may be at odds with culture. We must support those women in the throes of drug and alcohol dependency because of the abuse they’ve experienced. We must be bolder and stronger in our call for change, because this is a matter of life and death and time is running out.
We are all Australians first and foremost, and it’s not good enough to ignore our own. I will keep fighting, and this International Women’s Day, I call on every woman who has benefited from the opportunities Australia affords to pay them forward. Let’s be courageous, break the silence, take a stand for Indigenous women.
Anja Christofferson
As the recipient of Women & Leadership Australia’s Qld Award for Excellence in Women’s Leadership this year, I feel incredibly grateful for this acknowledgment for myself and other women leaders making progress in so many great ways.
While a lot is improving, there is one sector that still often falls behind – health. Through my healthcare and disability advocacy, I have uncovered some hard truths.
My focus is to champion our right to safe, high-quality healthcare, and create systems for social and economic inclusion for women with disabilities.
Did you know that two in every three women experience discrimination in healthcare?
I’ve experienced it first-hand.
I was born with a complex disability and saw a distinct change in how I was treated when I was viewed as a “child” vs when I became a (young) “woman”. My own knowledge of my body was not trusted. And my safety in my body was not prioritised.
One of the worst consequences of not believing women is in healthcare. Consider endometriosis, for example, it impacts one in seven women but still takes eight years to diagnose.
Consider the foundations our medical system is built upon, years of historical medical research that didn’t include female participants.
We are finding out that the heart attack symptoms we have been taught to monitor are different for women. Not believing women causes delays and misdiagnoses. This changes the trajectory of our lives.
The biggest change I want to see is believing the lived experience of women and supporting their ability to be leaders in the change they wish to experience. It starts with us and leads to a better world for everyone.
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