International Women's Day 2020: Downloadable wallpapers

As a young girl, Jillian Mercado dreamt of becoming a model in the fashion industry and never thought about her muscular dystrophy as an obstacle to do so. Nevertheless, she felt it hard to relate to any model due to the lack of diverse representation in the industry and the ableist beauty standards that rule our modern society. Thus, she decided to become a role model and a disabilities rights advocate to voice equal access and representation for people with disabilities. In her pursuit for equality, Jillian has created a successful career as model becoming one of the few models with visual disability to work with major brands such as Nordstrom and Target, be featured in Glamour and Cosmopolitan Magazines, and debut on New York Fashion’s Week last February 2020. Jillian uses her career and social media to share her own story as well as the challenges she faces daily due to the lack of support and representation of people with disabilities in the media. Jillian is one of those leaders that represents the intersectionality we strive for in our organisation. She doesn’t mind getting personal in order to shatter harmful stereotypes that hinder the growth and opportunities that should be given to everybody.

“I don’t do it for myself; I do it to hold the door for someone else.”

Reclaiming your identity after sexual assault is not easy. Particularly when your story is taken away from you by others, constantly shaped to fit the narratives of the different media. But Chanel Miller, previously known as the Stanford sexual assault survivor Emily Doe, not only reclaimed her story: when she was strong enough, she recovered her voice and wrote her memoir “Know My Name” in 2019 to make sure people would know her name under her terms and not by what happened to her. Chanel protected her name for as long as she needed to heal herself and didn’t let what happened define her. Through her words and illustrations, Chanel bares open her soul and her most vulnerable sides to inspire other victims to find love and courage. In a world where justice systems often dehumanise survivors of sexual assault, Chanel brings a hopeful and courageous voice for survivors to hold onto. Through her work, Chanel has become an advocate for humanising survivors and calling out white male sexual entitlement.

If you are lucky to be in Sydney on the 8th of March, don’t miss the opportunity to hear Chanel’s story in her own voice at the Opera House. For more information check the event website here.

“I did not come into existence when he harmed me - ‘She found her voice!’ - I had a voice. He stripped it, left me groping around blind for a bit, but I always had it. I just used it like I never had to use it before.”

Shareena Clanton is an actress and Indigenous rights activist born in Western Australia. She is a proud descendant of the Wongatha, Yamatji, Noongar and Gitja people, and have work on several international films which include Nowhere Boys and The Cry. Shareena is also well known for her role as Doreen Anderson in Australian drama series Wentworth. In 2017, after leaving the series, she started her activism path as an Indigenous rights advocate. Shareena has recently graduated from a BA in Indigenous Research with honours and uses her film knowledge and passion to create projects that advocate for Indigenous rights. She’s been an important leader for young Aboriginal voices, bringing awareness to the importance of connecting with ancestral identity and understanding your rights. As she advocates, we can all be allies by simply listening and acknowledging the history of those that have always lived here & been custodians of the land. The power to deconstruct elitism and discrimination lies in our ability to change our perceptions.

“It’s about celebrating other women, honouring their strength and their legacy. For us, because we come from a matriarchal culture, it’s always been about elevating, honouring and respecting our women and what they’ve paved the way for in terms of what I’ve been able to be a benefactor of.”

‘Ofa-Ki-Levuka is a New Zealand-Tongan activist and filmmaker, known for her advocacy in equal rights for women and children in Tonga and the ratification of the CEDAW – which was finally agreed by the Tonga government after 11 years of her advocacy. In 2009, ‘Ofa founded the Women and Children Crisis Centre focus in educating and advocating for the elimination of domestic violence and provide support and counseling for victims. Aside from her activist career, ‘Ofa has a communications, journalism and law background and founded - with her husband - the Coconut Productions, which produces videos to explain to government policies for the Women and Development Centre. She was also one of the eight women directors of Vai, a movie about the journey of a woman in the South Pacific. ‘Ofa is a tireless advocate for women’s equality and their involvement of decision making at all levels of economic, political and education matters. She is committed to empower young girls and eradicate all forms of abuse towards women and children.

“As soon as I started listening to the women and girls experiencing violence, my entire life changed.”

Janet Mock is a writer, director and transgender activist who started her career as an editor for People Magazine. But it wasn’t until she told her personal story that she found the strength needed to challenge society’s harmful stereotypes towards trans people. In 2012, she started #GirlsLikeUs to connect with other Black trans women and later in 2014 published her first memoir “Redefining Greatness” that launched her writing career. Still, Janet felt that the lack of proper transgender representation in the media needed to change. As a teen, Janet never felt reflected on the television shows that she grew up with. This inspired her decision to work on the television series Pose in 2017, making her the first Black trans woman to be hired as a writer - and later a director - for a television series. Janet wanted to broaden the narrow lens media used to portray trans folk and write stories that centered what it really meant to be trans, poor and Black in America. She writes characters that are the heroines that she lacked as role models when she was young, and that a young trans audience today not only crave, but need.

“Though I had been labeled an activist - merely for telling my truth - my intention was to use storytelling to combat stigma, empower my communities, and ensure audiences would feel their way through an experience unlike their own.”

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has proven to be more than just the youngest congress woman ever elected in the US: she has become a symbol of youth, diversity and change in polarised political landscape. Her strong values of social and environmental justice is what drives her political agenda – a political statement in itself living in a capitalist culture where money rules all. AOC’s ethnicity and working class background have influenced her commitment to look out for what benefits the working class over corporate interests, as well as her known advocacy for social, economic and racial justice. During her term, AOC has helped expose the inhumane conditions immigrant families have had to endure at the US-Mexico border, created and effectively promoted the Green New Deal to tackle climate change in US, and has redirected the congressional hearings to what they are meant to be: hearings. In her own words, she has “co-sponsored 339 pieces of legislation, authored 15, took on Big Pharma with my colleagues in hearings that brought PreP generic a year early & exposed abuse of power”. But most importantly, AOC has shown us through action and words that youth and women belong anywhere big decisions are being made - decisions that affect the future of us all.

“People think of leadership as this glamorous, powerful thing. But what people don’t realize is that leadership is also enormously difficult. Leadership is a responsibility, is about taking risks.”