As many of you would know Tuesday 8 March was International Women’s Day, a time for reflection, celebration, and action with this year’s theme of the day being #BreaktheBias. The day provided a great opportunity for our school to acknowledge the roles and successes of, and show gratitude to, significant women in our lives whilst learning more about how we can make a difference for them.

Over the week leading up to International Women’s Day, a power of work had been put in by many student leaders and staff who together created ribbons and question cards which centred around ‘creating conversations’ about important issues in our society for women. Our student leaders dedicated multiple lunchtimes to making these ribbons which were used as the vessels for starting conversations, as boys were asked to take one ribbon for themselves and give one to an important female in their lives. Some of the questions included:

• Have people ever made assumptions about you because of your gender?
• Have you ever felt like you have had to act or dress in a particular way because of your gender?
• Do you face certain obstacles because of your gender? E.g., subject choice, hobbies
• If there is one thing you wish I knew about being in your shoes; what would it be?

In addition to these conversation starters, a video was created featuring many different boys which delivered a powerful message to the community about what the day meant and what impact a simple change by acknowledging gender bias in your own life could have on someone else.

Furthermore, student leaders from both the junior and senior years were invited to Our Lady of Sion College to help celebrate the day at their school and engage in community activities. Our leaders welcomed girls into the school and handed out International Women’s Day badges. The main part of the day was filled with participation in impactful ‘Conversation Café’ where contemporary issues affecting men and women were discussed with empathy and respect, shedding light on the key changes which can be made in our own lives to impact others. Some of the topics covered were Consent, Gender Bias and Relationships. Whilst at Sion, we also had the opportunity to have conversations with some girls about their experiences with gender bias and hope to share this fantastic video with you soon!

Overall, the experience was a great success and provides a platform to continue to grow and create meaningful change in our community. We look forward to continuing to forge strong relationships with Our Lady of Sion in the future.

Jacob O’Brien

Lisieux House Captain

and

Mr Mick Lafferty

Deputy Principal – Students