Olympic hurdler Liz Clay has joined with members of the Gold Coast SUNS Academy and AFLW programs as part of the club’s celebration of International Women’s Day on Wednesday afternoon.

Celebrated annually on March 8, International Women’s Day is a celebration of all women, regardless of faith, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disabilities, with this year’s theme centred around achieving equality and empowerment for women.

Clay, a two-time national champion, was a guest presenter as the cohort of young SUNS women discussed the significance of the occasion, highlighted by 2023 theme #EmbraceEquity.

Joined by SUNS AFLW stars Alison Drennan and Wallis Randell, the group looked back on several landmark events in the pursuit of equity, including the launch of the AFLW in 2017, as well as a discussion on what opportunities could be available for female athletes in the coming decade.

“International Women’s Day is an important day to celebrate how far things have come as well as discuss what’s next in achieving equality for women,” Randell said.

“To have so many young female athletes together this afternoon alongside someone like Liz talking about the opportunities we may have in the years to come was special.”

#EmbraceEquity - what can we do?

2.7 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men

13.3% is the size of Australia’s gender pay gap

45 countries do not have specific laws against domestic violence

30% of women globally have experienced sexual or physical violence in their lifetime

So what can you do? Learn! The best thing we can do is educate ourselves, so we can educate those around us on the importance of IWD, feminism and gender equality. 

Insightful resources can found be via http://internationalwomensday.com or https://www.un.org/en/observances/womens-day.