Our Kalgoorlie Branch Manager Natasha attended the Goldfields Women’s Health Care Centre – Sisterhood at Sunset for International Women’s Day. She was inspired by what she experienced and shared with us some of her standout moments.

“There were so many wonderful speakers, including Laura Dwyer (CEO Shire of Willuna), Rowena Leslie (Director Kai Rho Contracting), Rev Dr Elizabeth Smith OAM, Sabina Shugg (Director WASM – Kalgoorlie Campus) & Dr Ann O’Neill. All speakers talked about how they #ChooseToChallenge the norm in their male-dominated industries.

Rev Dr Elizabeth Smith shared how changing simple words within her congregation from Him, Brotherhood etc to the more inclusive language of His/Her/Them has changed how her congregation look at the world. Laura Dwyer spoke about how she worked through the Male-dominated Mining industry to become the CEO of Willuna (remote Goldfields Community) because she wanted to make a difference in the community. She shared that women can do just as well as men in these industries we just have to back ourselves!

The most inspiring talk of the night was from Dr Ann O’Neill. In 1994 her life changed forever when her estranged husband attempted to take her life and succeeded in taking his life and the lives of their children. She survived and worked to challenge the normal response of people when something like this happens. She chose to not accept that she ‘did something wrong to deserve this , she chose to be the voice for herself and her children. To share her story in the hopes that it will help other people by taking that next step. If the path you are on is not happy or safe then choose another path. She said that everyone needs a hero and she chose to be her own!

It was a beautiful night with so many wonderful Goldfields Women who all showed up to support one another”