Tonight, join in for a special Q+A All About Women ahead of International Women’s Day, bringing together a diverse panel of women to discuss the big issues of the day.
With the Brittany Higgins scandal and growing number of sexual assault claims engulfing our federal parliament, it’s clear that the very institution responsible for enacting and protecting peoples’ rights has systemic problems in the way it treats women.
What urgent changes are needed to end Canberra’s toxic culture of silence? Has Grace Tame’s rousing speech as Australian of the Year started a snowballing effect – and what is the role of men in changing the power imbalance?
We’ll also discuss Facebook re-friending Australia, the climate wars dividing the coalition, the new JobSeeker rate, the impact of COVID on women – and whatever else you’d like to ask this stellar line-up of women!
Plus: Legendary writer Isabel Allende says everyone called her crazy for divorcing in her 70’s. She’s since remarried and says “I didn’t anticipate having sex again, let alone getting married.” How do women negotiate romance and the desire for self-sufficiency that often comes with age?
On the Panel
Isabel Allende
Internationally acclaimed author and feminist
At 78, legendary Chilean writer Isabel Allende has seen first-hand what feminism has accomplished in her lifetime.
Susan McDonald
Queensland National Party Senator
Susan McDonald is the chairman of the Federal Government’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport committee.
Anne Aly
Labor Member for Cowan
Dr Anne Aly is the Labor MP for the Perth metropolitan seat of Cowan, which she first won in the 2016 election and retained in 2019.
Samantha Maiden
National Political Editor
Samantha Maiden is the political editor for news.com.au. She won a Walkley award for her coverage of federal politics and Scott Morrison’s secret bushfire holiday to Hawaii in 2020.
Dhanya Mani
Lawyer and former NSW Liberal Party staffer
Dhanya Mani is the founder of ‘Changing Our Headline’ – a campaign to create a safe, healthy and feminist culture in Australia’s Parliaments and workplaces.
Kate Crawford
Academic and leading artificial intelligence expert
Kate Crawford is a leading international scholar of the social implications of artificial intelligence.
Closing the Show
Hani Abdile
Poet, student and refugee
Hani Abdile is a writer, student and spoken-word poet based in the country of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, in Sydney.
