The Success of International Women’s Day.

In the lead up to International Women’s Day this year, a few friends commented that every day is women’s day and questioned the need to celebrate on one day of the year. Looking back at my career in construction and media, I reflected that it’s only been the past decade that we have celebrated IWD, and only more recently has it become an event that all organisations prioritise. At AWGN we celebrate women on each golf day, and the same discussions of inequality are raised, especially given that golf is still dominated by men. IWD2023 had to be something different for our members, and we made the decision to run both Sydney and Melbourne major events on this important day.

Sydney and Melbourne have historically been polar opposites, and our membership in these two States certainly reflects this. AWGN in Sydney is attracting very competent golfers with low handicaps who don’t necessarily want golf clinics and are only interested in playing 18 holes at hard-to-access private clubs. I am often the beginner at these golf days and watch in awe as some of our members with very low handicaps play with such style and finesse. The golf days are often serious as players compete with themselves for their best score on the day, rules are debated and firm handshakes are offered at the end of the round.

Melbourne on the other hand, attracts so many first-day golfers and beginners that I often wonder if we are more enjoying a walk around the golf course and discussing work, and family while playing Ambrose, with laughter regularly heard across the golf course. Our Victorian members love the golf clinics, the shopping events, connecting with our coaches online and playing 6 holes is often enough to get their golf fix for the day!

The difference between the two States, and the events we run, keeps our team on their toes, constantly thinking of ways we can keep our members challenged and engaged while offering unique and valuable networking opportunities. All styles of events we offer support AWGN’s goal to support and encourage women in business to achieve their best.

Both IWD2023 events were very special this year, and we were delighted with the women they attracted. In Sydney, we offered a breakfast followed by 18 holes of golf and networking at the News South Wales Golf Club in La Perouse. We couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather conditions for our group of 16. The hospitality was exceptional and we always feel very welcome at this prestigious club, thank you to the team for reaching out and inviting us to play this spectacular course. The day started with the most magnificent sunrise over the ocean, as Phoebe and I arrived early to set up. We knew this was going to be an extraordinary event and were excited about our guest’s arrival at 7.30am.

The theme for IWD2023 was DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality. Phoebe lead a lively discussion over breakfast as the group prepared for an incredible day of golf, for most their first time playing at NSW’s number 1 golf club. As with all of our golf events, the day flew by and we were fortunate to have the very talented Brett Costello working with us capturing those memorable moments behind the lens in a way only he can. The day wrapped up late afternoon as golf stories were shared over fine wine and cheese. Another great success and some very happy golfers left remarking that was one of their best golf days ever.

Our event in Melbourne, by contrast, was a Putting Masterclass followed by a champagne brunch attracting also a very high level of professional women from construction, IT, education, design, and media. The majority of our guests knew each other well and were excited to meet at one of our favourite private clubs, The Metropolitan Golf Club on the Melbourne Sandbelt. AWGN has been very fortunate to run many events and clinics at Metro and is always welcomed very warmly by Dayle, Michael, and the team there. Jasmine from Yarra Yarra joined us as the group was split in two, both coaches running through the basics of the putting stroke through to pre-shot routines, and tips. Putting is one of the most important areas of the game, and benefits all players regardless of their golf experience. The putting competition brought everyone together at the end as Melbourne member Tracy Day showed us her skills getting closest to the hole.

Brunch similarly raised some very important discussions around gender inequality in the workplace. Creating a safe space for women to share, brought out some very raw and emotional stories of their experiences. Sadly these were still the same inequalities that we discussed a decade ago and made us all question if any progress had been made. Women were still taking off their wedding rings before going to meetings, and hiding pregnancy from their boss to avoid being overlooked for promotions. A few of our guests offered positive examples of new programs being implemented in their offices to address inequality issues and seemed hopeful for change. All of our guests agreed that days like International Women’s Day were not so much a celebration of women but an opportunity to share honest discussions about their struggles and successes with younger women coming into the workforce.

One major benefit of joining AWGN, and it may not seem obvious unless you are in the network, is the opportunity to be mentored by some quite incredibly successful women. This is not part of a formal mentoring program that can often miss the mark, but usually, a genuine offer to catch up over coffee, talk and provide advice at critical moments in your career when only a woman can understand and help. The deep friendships that are built on our golf days and authentic business opportunities that result are a sign that we are hitting AWGN goals, and are extremely rewarding and motivating for our team. IWD2023 events in Sydney and Melbourne, definitely rate as two of our most meaningful, and if the feedback is anything to go by, we are definitely on the right track. Thank you to all of our guests that participated, and brought their vulnerability. This is the driving force of connection, it’s brave and impossible to create change without it.