First marked in 1911, International Women’s Day is a global call to action for accelerating women’s equality and a celebration of the social, economic, and political achievements of women.

The 2024 theme is Count Her In: Invest in Women. Accelerate Progress. Women’s economic empowerment is central to a gender-equal world. When women are given equal opportunities to earn, learn and lead – entire communities thrive.

Held on March 8, International Women’s Day precedes the United Nations’ largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, the 68th Commission on the Status of Women which will take place from 11 to 22 March 2024.  As well as discuss the priority theme of ‘Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls,’ the session will review agreed conclusions from the 63rd session held in 2019 which urged governments and organizations to act to ‘make infrastructure work for women and girls.’

We can do this by:

• Promoting inclusiveness
• Integrating a gender perspective into the planning and use of public spaces
• Considering the different needs of women, men, girls, boys, gender-diverse individuals, persons with and without disabilities or access needs
• Promoting safe public spaces and improving the security and safety of women and girls through gender-responsive rural and urban planning

Ahead of International Women’s Day in Australia, our Diversity in Design Working Group is hosting an internal workshop to educate one another on the ACT Government’s award-winning Gender Sensitive Urban Design Implementation Toolkit, developed in collaboration with PLACE Laboratory, Communication Link, and Inhabit Place. The project examines common gender-related public realm inequalities and challenges, offering practical recommendations to remedy and resolve them. The toolkit and accompanying framework are publicly available to practitioners and anyone who wants to understand more about designing more equitable, inclusive, accessible, and safer public spaces for everyone.

We’re mindful of gender balance within both our practice and project teams. Across our Australian studios 50% of our employees are women. According to UN Women Australia, innovations from teams that include at least one woman are proven to be more economically valuable and have a higher impact than those with only men involved.

For those working within our industry, we encourage you to connect with Parlour, a research-based advocacy organisation working to improve gender equity in architecture and the built environment professions.