What does Each for Equal mean to us at ARNA?

International Women's Day 2020

Over the last few years, I've been having some really interesting conversation with people about the word feminism or the view of being a feminist. I have found that so many people from different genders and age groups are finding the word or view of feminism to be one-sided. To be more focused on the advancement of women above men rather than a message of equality. 

For us, feminism, International Women's Day and the theme of Each for Equal are all one-in-the-same. The idea, that we are all equals and that all people no matter gender, race, religion, beliefs should have an equal opportunity in life, to work and to thrive. 

I've been asked so often by men, about the physical strength of women never going to match up to the physical strength of a man. This is where I think people are completely missing the point. Feminism and true equality are about recognising every person for their own individual strengths be it emotional, physical, the ability to build relationships or the ability to build a house. All of these things are of value and all of these things are strengths. It's not a competition of who can lift more weights, it's a discussion of equity and equality for all people. 

Each for Equal is about all human rights for equality. 

What we want to see in a future that is Each for Equal

• Our future is one where women have equal pay for the same work as their male counterparts. 
• Where we see men and women offered equal parental leave opportunities at work. 
• Where we see education offered to all women and girls, the world over. 
• Where we see women on boards and as CEO's of the top companies across Australia. 
• Where we see more women in politics in Australia. 
• Where we see more women of colour leading the charge in all areas of work, politics and governing of Australia as a whole. 

What is ARNA doing towards the Each for Equal movement? 

As two sisters who have worked and lived across Australia and New Zealand, we are incredibly passionate about the advancement of women in all areas of life, from work, to potential motherhood, to health, education, sexuality, sexualisation, equal pay and the list goes on. 

Over the past year we have been working on many initiatives to work towards a more equitable world. 

• Arianne, launched a workshop at LinkedIn (where she works full-time) about the behaviours that hold women back at work. This workshop has now gone global and over 300 women have been involved in taking their own learning upon themselves to reflect and acknowledge the behaviours that stop us from advancing at work. This workshop has lead to more promotions for women across the business and more self awareness for women at work. 
• Tash, shared the ARNA story discussing women's rights in a conference in Dubai. This event was hosted by PHDMedia and was discussing challenger brands. We shared the ARNA story and discussed the needs for women to work on gaining leadership positions by being accountable for their own behaviour. 
• ARNA also just launched our Bold Moves campaign sharing stories of 4 powerful women, Kylee Stone, Sara Saleh, Marlee Silva and Keely Silva. These women are powerful leaders in their fields and pushing boundaries everyday with their work. Through sharing their stories we are changing the narrative and the stories we see about women in the media. We are celebrating each other and lifting each other up and this simple ask and change is enough to push women's rights forward. 
• Charitable giving - ARNA provides 1% of all profits to charities supporting women rights. So far we have made donations to groups Share the Dignity and Seed Mob. Share the Dignity supports women experiencing homelessness with care packages that include sanitary products among many other things. Seed Mob is a female lead, Indigenous organisation working on the effects of climate change in Australia. 
• We are about to launch a partnership with i=change who also support women through charitable giving and non-profit organisations. They support retailers in giving $1 from every sale to specific organisations focused on helping and advancing women. 
• We run a variety of workshops and do talks to support women in advancing themselves at work. 
• We are also travelling the globe to understand and work on our supply chain. We want to make sure that our bags are made ethically and in a good working environment for all people that we work with. Find out more here. 

This International Women's Day we are featuring so many amazing women across our platforms from all walks of life. Be sure to check back in our news section to read and learn from these amazing women leaders. 

Photography of IWD imagery is by Sarah Koester / EyeEm

Read our interviews for IWD featuring amazing women leaders.

Read our interview of 10 women about what they'd tell their younger selves. 

Read our interview with athlete Lisa Weightman for IWD.

#IWD2020 #EachforEqual #BoldMoves