International Women’s Day
Historically international women's day was an initiative by Clara Zetkin (leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) in 1910. suggested at an International Conference of Working Women, which was held in Copenhagen. Clara proposed this annual event in every country, a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. Thank you, Clara, a century has passed, so much has been gained, including the right to vote.
The mountain of disadvantage women face, from womb to tomb, still exists though. Termination of female baby pregnancies is more common. As a women's health clinician, there is no week that goes by in my work life that I do not ponder and wonder when the taboo, shame and secrecy around various health concerns will be broken, and we will be able to discuss say vulval lichen, incontinence and menstrual abnormalities as we discuss asthma and heart problems. International women's day, for us, was a celebration as well as a time to reflect, we were fortunate to be joined by so many warriors for a better tomorrow, who shared their wisdom and listened to the WHR team discuss the value of collaboration in health care.
Women and people with the uterus, benefit from a team based approach to managing their symptoms. There is much value that general practitioner specialists, colorectal surgeons, pelvic physio's, nursing and midwifery clinician's add, to the role of the obstetrician and gynaecologist. The 2023 theme is #crackingthecode, highlighting the need to connect better, to base our health system on a solid digital health foundation, to find the mythical magic portion that is interoperability, to level the playing field for the women we care for, improving access and empowerment in the process.
IWD is Clara’s legacy, what change will you initiate to improve the status quo for women? Thank you to our wonderful MPs and local Northern Beaches mayor, for attending our morning tea, joining us in valuing women everywhere.
To browse the photos from our International Women’s Day Morning Tea, click here.
