Bin the usual tokenistic cupcakes and serve up some real and sticky conversations this International Women’s Day (IWD) to drive greater equality in the workplace.

That’s the call from Women in Digital (WID), a national organisation representing Australian women in the digital industry with a community of more than 13,000 people.

To encourage IWD conversations that spark actual tangible change, WID will lick the status quo – quite literally – by handing out giant lollipops, not cupcakes, at its sold-out breakfast event in Brisbane on Friday, March 8.

The colourful lollies are sweet but come with a serious side, by way of stickers spelling out what women really want:

• Real change, not tokenism
• Equal parental leave
• Universal childcare
• Super contributions during parental leave
• Equal pay for equal work
• More women in leadership
• Promotion pathways
• Men championing workplace change

All 250 people attending the WID IWD event at the Emporium Southbank will receive giant lollipops, and be encouraged to share pictures to their socials with messages of changes they’d like to see in the workforce.

At the breakfast, WID will also launch its 2024 Women in Digital Discourse, which will ask women in digital about their real insights and experiences in the workforce and thoughts around areas for improvement.

The in-depth survey which will form the national discourse – the first sentiment of its kind to be published later this year – will be filled out by women at the event and emailed to thousands of in WID’s network.

WID CEO Holly Hunt said IWD was an opportunity to have real conversations – not just cupcakes and coffee – to help advance women’s career prospects.

“The stark reality is women continue to confront a myriad of barriers in the workplace, from a lack of flexibility in senior roles to poor policies around maternity and paternity leave.

We also know there is still much work to be done to close the gender pay gap, with landmark data released a couple of weeks ago revealing many large organisations pay women substantially less.

“What women really want from IWD is advocacy for tangible change, but what they largely get is an unfortunate exercise in corporate tokenism, with talkfests accompanied by cupcakes, tea and coffee, all of which lead to nothing.

Don’t get me wrong, women like cupcakes but on IWD we want something more meaningful. We want our cake, and we want to eat it too – that’s not much to ask.”

ENDS

For more information, or to speak with Holly, please contact Melissa Grant at Bespoken Agency on melissa.grant@bespokeagency.com.au / 0402 717 107.

About Women in Digital: Women in Digital is a national organisation offering events, mentoring and corporate services for organisations that value diversity and inclusion in digital.

With a community that’s grown to more than 13,000 people during the last nine years, Women in Digital has become a cornerstone of the Australian tech community with the key focus of improving gender diversity in the industry.