It is a chance for us to celebrate and acknowledge the success and the achievements of women all around the world. Yet, it is also an opportunity to raise awareness of the work that still needs to be done in order to achieve gender parity.

Last year, in the gender pay gap analysis done by Statistics NZ, it was shown that the median income for women over the entire New Zealand workforce was 9.5% less than men. Which has only gone up in the last three years after a 9.4% pay difference was released in 2017. This shows that despite living in a country that was first to give women the vote, there are still issues that aren’t changing fast enough and there needs to be more awareness of the cause.

This year the theme for International Women's Day is 'Choose To Challenge'. It is a call for all people, both male and female, to call out gender bias and inequality in their communities, and to help forge a more inclusive world.

As a girls’ school, we take great pride in, and celebrate our achievements both in and out of school on a daily basis. However International Women's Day provides us with a chance to acknowledge and raise awareness for the women who don't have the same opportunities that we are presented with here in Aotearoa.

“From challenge comes change, so let's all ‘choose to challenge.”