Name: Kiri Artz
Grade: Year 10
Age: 16 Years
School: Stawell Secondary College
Hometown and State: Stawell, Victoria
LIFTING US UP – How can women and girls empower each other and their communities in times of uncertainty and change?
Hello, my name is Kiri Artz. I’m here to talk about how women, girls, and members of their communities can empower each other in times where uncertainty and change are all around us by recognising how our society is shaped and how we can encourage and empower women to make a change even in times of uncertainty. Why? To encourage equality and fair representation that will benefit the future and allow women to combat discrimination and let their ideas be heard without judgement on the basis of gender.
The first step in the journey of female empowerment and learning how to empower others, is to take a step back and take a look at our society, to recognise the need for female empowerment so that we can live in an equal world. We are living in a world that has been historically largely dominated by men with systems being built for, and serving men. Misogyny and Patriarchy is hidden all throughout our society and continues to discourage and belittle women without many people even recognising that it is there. This comes as no surprise given our history, law maker, politician, and philosopher roles were all dominated by men who influenced the structure of today’s society. Women’s voices remain unheard with a lack of female representation in parliament, although numbers are rising, following the 2016 election, parliament in total, only consisted of 32% women (Hough, 2016), however, in 2018 women made up 51% of Australia’s population (AIHW, 2019). Particularly, in uncertain times women can present helpful and valuable ideas to help in empowering the community. In a world where women are discouraged and underrepresented an effort needs to be made to empower women for a more equal society.
Women and girls must support, encourage, validate, motivate and give hope to each other in times of change and uncertainty. As women we need to help other women and girls recognise their potential, talents and power. We need to stand up for ourselves and each other when we see gender inequalities, and objectification. We need to instil confidence in each other to be the change we want to see in society in uncertain times. This can include: having the courage during a pandemic to start a business making masks, or delivering groceries to people in high risk groups, or during bushfires to provide people with shelter and supplies, or just within life pursuing careers in male-dominated fields, becoming a member of a political party or even just speaking up in the face of issues concerning sexism, being a role model to young girls and other women. Even in the school community you can encourage your friends and peers to go for opportunities they were second guessing or disparage sexist attitudes and denormalize everyday sexism by speaking out against it. For a change in the power dynamic of gender roles, we women need to demonstrate to others, and especially men, that we have qualities and a voice that must be heard in order to create a better society and solve the current and future problems we are faced with in the world. The key to empowering women in uncertain times is giving each other the confidence and support to enable our voices to be heard.
In conclusion, females are often faced with discouragement and under representation which can be difficult to combat, especially in times of change and uncertainty, but if women continue to support and stand up for each other, more and more women will be willing to become the change they want to see in the world.
This Power Trip is kindly being sponsored by AgriFutures Australia
References
AIHW, 2019. The Health Of Australiaäó»S Females, Who Are Australia’s Females? – Australian Institute Of Health And Welfare. [online] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Available at: [Accessed 22 August 2020].
Hough, A., 2016. The Gender Composition Of The 45Th Parliament äóñ Parliament Of Australia. [online] Aph.gov.au. Available at: [Accessed 22 August 2020].
Higgins, C., 2018. The Age Of Patriarchy: How An Unfashionable Idea Became A Rallying Cry For Feminism Today. [online] the Guardian. Available at: [Accessed 22 August 2020].