A Delegate's Account - International Women's Day
Inghams' SA Delegate Tamara Hollis' written account of her participation in International Women's Day.
[left] Tamara Hollis, Inghams SA
We arrived at the airport and I was nervous about what I was about to experience and learn, and Lynn looked very scared about her flight. Lynn managed her flight well and when we got to Melbourne there was a completely different atmosphere around. It seemed a lot busier and there were lots of business people around.
My room was so nice, it had a balcony where I saw some hot air balloons flying around the buildings. Dominic took us over to the restaurant where we were having tea and met some of the other ladies attending the women’s day conference. Dinner was excellent; we met Julie, an Organiser from Melbourne, and Bertie and Kristy; two ladies that work in the call centre. They were great, they made us feel very welcome and were easy to talk to.
At the conference we learned a lot about superannuation and I discovered that to retire today you’ll need over $1 million to retire comfortably. This will enable you to go out three times a week and still enjoy everyday things we enjoy while we work.
Industrial Officer Susie Allison talked about a women’s program in India and how they are fighting for women’s rights at work and in the community. There was a quick slide show on how some women were forcefully removed from their stalls. Women were bashed and arrested - their stalls and items were confiscated. The leader of SEWA (that’s the name of the organisation) was beaten and arrested by the police force and put in jail. Thousands of women gathered together and protested outside the jail until the Government sat down and had talks with SEWA about fair conditions for women. All the stalls and items were given back and they relocated them to a permanent spot.
I thought it was amazing how in their culture, with their beliefs, they continue to have women who don’t have a lot of rights as it is, and to all stand up together, not only to men, but to their government. This would have been a very hard thing to do and I think that these are women to look up to and I hope that I can be that strong one day.
Overall, the whole trip was absolutely amazing and I learnt so much and had an excellent experience. I hope I get a chance to do something like this again in the future. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who gave us the opportunity to attend this conference.
