Monday 3 March 2025

Acting Principal, Ipswich Girls Grammar School, Ms Wendy Jurss; panel members, Professor Rachel Neale, Mrs Jacqui Martin and Ms Gwenny Warnick; school leaders, teachers staff, students, parents and carers.

I begin by acknowledging the Original Custodians of the lands around Ipswich, the Jagera, Yuggera and Ugarapul people, and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and to all First Nations people here this morning.

It is a pleasure to be joining you to share in your International Women’s Day Assembly.

As Governor of Queensland and as a woman, I appreciate the importance of celebrating advancements for women in many areas of society.

In the past century, women have gained the right to vote, seen improvements in workplace rights, and benefited from advancements in healthcare, education, and leadership roles. Reproductive rights, legal protections, and stronger laws against discrimination and violence have also empowered women, while global movements have raised awareness of gender inequality.

However, I also appreciate the significant barriers that still impede us in our efforts to attain full gender parity.

In 1911, when the first International Women’s Day was held, women’s rights in the workforce were the main agenda item.

They remain so today, with underrepresentation in leadership positions and ingrained biases in many professional spheres a continuing concern.

Add to this the challenges to women’s economic empowerment more broadly, and inequitable access to quality education and training globally.

Of course, women’s rights are human rights, and we all have a role to play in advancing the status of women and girls globally.

So, how exactly do we do that? It certainly sounds like a hefty task.

One way to help is to perhaps join an organisation that addresses the ingrained barriers and biases that inordinately affect women.

Another way is to give monetarily, and direct funds to charities that support and empower women.

But we should also never underestimate the power of ‘one’, either.

Someone like you, sitting here in the audience today at your school’s assembly—you can make a practical difference in the lives of other women, and perhaps many more than you think.

One such individual who came to this very school, and like you sat in this very hall, is now out in the world doing just that.

Isabella Mayes is currently working in Old Fangak, South Sudan, as a midwife with Doctors Without Borders.

In this remote, conflict-affected region, where health care access is limited by seasonal flooding and women must travel long distances by foot or canoe to receive care, particularly during childbirth, ‘Bella’ provides essential medical support to those in need.

I understand Year 10 students at Ipswich Girls’ Grammar are familiar with such issues through their work with Zonta, packing birthing kits for women in underdeveloped countries.

This International Women’s Day, we celebrate women like Bella and the efforts of all women making their mark on the social, economic, cultural and political fabric of our world.

It’s a wonderful opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come—and how much there is left to do.

This year’s IWD theme, March Forward, gives us a neat clue as to where we can start—one foot in front of the other, focussing our collective efforts on positively impacting the progress of women worldwide.

I very much look forward to seeing what contributions you make in the years ahead, and please know that I support you every step of the way.

Thank you.