The 8th of March marked International Women’s Day. In a speech to parliament, Rachel encouraged the men in the Legislative Council to reflect on power and how they are helping to “balance the scales”.
Thursday the 19th of March 2026,
Victorian Legislative Council
Rachel Payne (South-Eastern Metropolitan):
I want to reflect on International Women’s Day, which we celebrated on 8 March. This year’s themes were ‘Give to gain’ and ‘Balance the scales’. At first blush this implies financial giving, and this makes sense: women’s share of the global income is under 35%. Even in countries like Australia the gender pay gap remains stubborn, although it is shifting. But I would like to invite the chamber to consider other types of giving, specifically the generosity inherent in collaboration.
Generalisations are fraught, but I think it is fair to say that women generally work more collaboratively. Collaboration implies a spirit of abundance and sees power not as something to be lorded over others but to be shared. Power shared is power multiplied. So reflecting on International Women’s Day, I would encourage the men in this chamber to deeply reflect on power: are you generous with your power? Politics is rugged and that is okay. But women navigate this robust terrain while also fighting both conscious and unconscious bias, from the Premier to the crossbench MPs. How are you helping to balance the scales?
I want the men in this chamber to reflect on how they can make Parliament a more supportive place for all women, to ask themselves, ‘What would you give to gain gender equality?’ Now, that would be progress.
