Voice of Real Australia is a regular newsletter from ACM, which has more than 100 mastheads across Australia. Today's is written by Central Western Daily deputy editor Grace Ryan.
Dear Eadie,
It's almost International Women's Day. A day we can stop and reflect on how our lives have changed over the years, what it's like to be a woman in today's society, and importantly, what's left to achieve.
Life, in many respects, is easier for women in 2024 than it ever has been before.
Gradually, parenting is becoming less about what gender you are and more about the individual relationship with the child.
Women's bodies are no longer expected to be the weight and appearance of a coat hanger.
And most men have finally realised that wolf whistling is not only not okay, it's also just gross.
But, my darling girl, there is so much left to go.
I know I work too much, trying to keep the hamster wheel going, acting like I'm not a mother at work and acting like I'm not a full-time employee when I'm mothering.
Despite you going to daycare for three years now, I still get a twinge of guilt when I drop you off each day, feeling like I should be the one doing craft and playing imaginary games with you, instead of the educators.
Not a week goes by where someone doesn't remind me that we'll "never get this time back" and the guilt comes creeping back.
None of this guilt is from you. Your beautiful smile and run up to me after eight hours apart is one of my favourite parts of the day. And you love playing work with me when I can't pull myself away from the laptop of an afternoon.
But there is something ingrained inside of me the guilt stems from.
Domestic labour is another hard bit of being a woman in 2024. We're not meant to whinge about it, as many working mothers have robo-vacs and cleaners (who are normally also mothers)... but when you're the only one who is replacing the toilet roll each day, it adds up right?
The gender pay-gap is not something we should joke about. When my grandmother (your grandnan) was in her 30s the fact that she worked nightshift at the hospital with six kids at home was blasphemy.
Now-a-days, outwardly, it's much more accepted that a woman will work once she's had kids.
But whether that woman is paid properly or not, is another question. Just last week, stats showed women earn less than men at 92 per cent of private sector employers. This just isn't good enough.
What I do delight in, my darling girl, is that women for women is on the rise. Celebrating your girlfriends, highlighting awesome women in your industry and learning about inspiring Australia women is all something I've seen more of over the last few years.
There's incredible female sporting heroes who are finally getting their moment in the sun and just last month a pop star pretty much stopped the whole country.
Most importantly, your mum gets to spend a chunk of her week writing a newsletter to a bunch of wonderful women in the Central West. The women, are just doing what they do, but because of this, they deserve to be celebrated.
You're only three at the moment, so I know you won't read this. But hopefully, in 10 years time, when you've googled your name and this comes up, the two of us will be telling a different story.
But I hope the love, celebration and community of Central West women stays the same.
Love always,
Your mum x
Grace Ryan
Deputy Editor at the Central Western Daily, Orange. You'll mostly find me tinkering in social media and newsletters. Working hard to get our stories in front of your eyes.
Deputy Editor at the Central Western Daily, Orange. You'll mostly find me tinkering in social media and newsletters. Working hard to get our stories in front of your eyes.
